The Speech of Shane Mitchell 

Firstly, I'd like to thank you all for making the effort to come to this very special ceremony and our family would like to welcome you all here.

This spot in particular, is a very fitting place for Luke's memorial plaque because even though Luke was only a resident of Sanctuary Lakes for a relatively short period of time, he would often come to this beach and admire the views across the golf course through the fountain and take photos of the sun setting to the west, or pictures of the cityscape to the east.

Luke was a very special individual. He always conducted himself in a respectful manner, and always was there to lend a hand to anyone in need. His selflessness and his grounded nature was evident right to the very end. Going to the aid of a complete stranger, unaware of the position he was going to find himself in; he didn't hesitate to stand up to three cowardly thugs who were doing wrong to another person. It's that courage & bravery that we are here to celebrate today.

On a day that, weather wise, could be seen as bleak, the fact that we are all here to pay tribute to the courage displayed by Luke, shows that we are able to create our own little piece of sunshine by coming together and acknowledging that there are many good & brave people among us that need to be celebrated. 

For whatever reason, we are seeing one of the worst periods in Melbourne's history played out in a violent and deadly display of inhumane, spineless & vile drunken behaviour by small groups of vermin that consider themselves and these despicable acts acceptable within our communities.

This is not acceptable in anyone's community!

We need more people like Luke in our lives. More people that are prepared to stand up and not be afraid to fight for our rights to be safe. There are many more people just like Luke out there, people that are prepared to put themselves on the line, regardless of consequence, to ensure our quality of life is there for our children, family and friends.

 

These people need to be celebrated to begin to restore faith in society that there are many Good Samaritans in our communities and to show that good can triumph over evil.

Edmund Burke once wrote,'...all that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing'

We have lobbied the government to support Good Samaritans Day and are pleased to welcome the public support from the Federal Leader of the Opposition, Mr Malcolm Turnbull and the State Leader of the Opposition Mr Ted Baillieu.

 

We take this opportunity now to also ask Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to wholly support the call to add Good Samaritans Day the national calendar.

 

We also call for Mr John Brumby and all parties of the Victorian and Federal Parliament to start listening to the community and take immediate action by putting mandatory sentencing on the parliamentary agenda.

We must all remember that this great country of ours was built on helping our mates. When times are tough or when someone's in trouble, Australians are known for their generosity and their integrity. It's part of our national fabric. To see that fabric perish before our eyes because we are too afraid to speak up is a sad day indeed.

 

It is now time that we as a community tell our leaders that we don't want to see our national identity disappear. It is time for our leaders to hear the voice of the people that are saying 'enough is enough!'

 

We will not tolerate the growing violence on our streets and we will not accept lenient sentencing anymore for those that chose to put our lives in danger.

The quote at the bottom of Luke's plaque reads, 'When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened'

 

I call on everyone to do what they can and to use whatever recourses they have available to them to ensure their voices are heard, to support Luke's Law and to support Good Samaritans Day so we can stand together and say 'We made our home safe again'.

So to Luke and those like him, the courage and bravery shown by you has stiffened the spines of those around you. Thank you.