I contribute to debate on the Police Amendment (Police Officer Support Scheme) Bill 2024. I begin by congratulating the Minister, who is the hardest working Minister I have seen for a long time. I thank her and her exceptional team. Let us talk about a few facts. New South Wales police officers work hard around the clock to care for our communities to ensure our safety. They put their lives, safety and health on the line every single day. We all agree that that is a fact. The job of a police officer is beyond stressful. That is a fact. When we came to government, we wanted to make sure that our officers were looked after, and the current Police Blue Ribbon Insurance scheme was just not doing that.

We decided to fix something that was broken. It was not helping cops get back to work, and there were significant tax implications for police officers. It was an absolutely nightmare. That is a fact. What is this new scheme that will address those problems? The new Enhanced Police Support Scheme [EPSS] will support injured police officers and help them get back to work. It will bring the scheme back into public hands.

The new EPSS will also improve support for recovery and return to work, streamline support for all injury management claims, address the significant concessional cap taxation issues and provide an improved safety net to support officers and their families. This Government and this Minister are helping officers get back to work. Changes to the Police Blue Ribbon Insurance scheme is just one part of that. When Parliament is in session, the Minister stands up in this place and talks about her support and our Government's support for police officers. When she is not here, every single day she is out across the State, listening to those police officers and bringing their concerns into policy change for their health and safety.

As a government, we are focused on retention. Other members have spoken in this debate about the different measures that we are taking to address retention, We are also focused on recruitment, especially after the mess we inherited. The gall of the member of Bathurst, the former police Minister, to disregard some of those important steps that he knows were needed to fix a broken system is unbelievable. Our police Minister does not need a Toole stool to do her job. Local cops in my area have talked to me about the concessional cap problem for quite some time, and this new scheme puts an end to one of the most financially complex, onerous and unfair schemes imposed on the New South Wales police.

We are addressing the needs that our local police have spoken to us about, listening to those on the ground and respecting those police officers. The new scheme fixes those problems for New South Wales. I take this opportunity to thank the exceptional Blue Mountains Police Area Command, some of whom have spoken to me about their frustrations with those taxation problems. They are pleased that the Minister and her team, along with the Police Association, are addressing those issues through this bill. I thank the Blue Mountains Police Area Command. They have had a tough couple of weeks. The challenges that they take on are monumental. This is one significant reform that they need and deserve. I commend the bill to the House.