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Matthew Guy Must Apologise For Insulting Victoria Police

01 June 2017

Liberal leader Matthew Guy must immediately apologise after unleashing an unprecedented attack on the integrity of Victoria Police.

Only hours after Victoria Police safely escorted every passenger unharmed off Malaysian Airlines flight 128, Mr Guy called into question Victoria Police’s handling of the emergency.

Mr Guy was not briefed by authorities and did not seek an operational briefing before attacking the men and women of Victoria Police who boarded the plane and removed all passengers and crew safely.

The ill-informed Liberal Party Leader is in no position to question the judgement of highly trained police who were responding to a volatile situation affecting the lives of more than 350 people.

As the Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton has made clear, Victoria Police needed to eliminate serious risks to passengers and crew on board, including intelligence that there may have been other devices on the plane or another potential offender.

This is a pattern of behaviour – the increasingly erratic Liberal Leader has attacked Victoria Police, while backing his Shadow Emergency Services Minister Brad Battin, who has made false, insulting and disgraceful slurs on Black Saturday firefighters.

Mr Guy also described Labor’s recent budget, which included almost $5 billion in funding for police, corrections, and combatting family violence, as not having a single extra cent for keeping Victorians safe.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Police Lisa Neville

“Matthew Guy has questioned the professionalism, bravery, and capacity of Victoria Police – this is an appalling attack and he should apologise immediately.”

“This is a pattern of behaviour – the Liberals attack firefighters one day, our police the next.”

“I am proud of Victoria Police and the work they did to ensure every single passenger and crew member on MH 128 was removed safely.”

Reviewed 19 August 2020

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