Appalling attack plans by wannabe terrorists alarming

I WAS horrified to learn recently of the threat of stabbing attacks on police officers in Melbourne, alleged to have been planned by radicalised jihadi teenagers.

That these wannabe terrorists were just naive youths who had gone off the rails is so alarming because it demonstrates that this can happen anywhere, and not just in war-torn states and the Middle East.

Even though the director of the New Zealand SIS, Rebecca Kitteridge, has said we have a lower threat level than our Aussie mates face, I think it is important that we take practical, sensible steps to keep the public safe.

As a former police officer of nearly 25 years, I thought it was particularly atrocious that these misled amateur Osamas were looking to target the brave men and women who serve to make our neighbourhoods and communities safer.

It is especially appalling that this was planned for a time of year which is sacred to the memory of those who died and fought for the freedoms we enjoy.

This Saturday we will remember, and educate the next generation about the soldiers who served at Gallipoli and other theatres in the Great War.

In preparation for this centennial, the Government provided funding to upgrade many memorials throughout New Zealand with a local example being a $313,700 grant to the Westmere Presbyterian Memorial Church.

This church, built in 1924, was conceived as a memorial to locals who made the ultimate sacrifice in World War I.

Yet as we upgrade and restore many memorials around the country, there are still those who do not understand their significance to our country.

In New Brighton it looks like the war memorial may have to be covered on Anzac Day due to vandals covering it with graffiti which - because of the porous nature of the limestone of which it is built - is unable to be effectively cleaned off.

These types of acts show huge disrespect for our heroic ancestors, and a complete lack of understanding by the hooligans.

They are not just defacing a building, they are desecrating the memory of our loved ones.

So I hope that tomorrow tomorrow the true significance of April 25 is embedded on the next generation.

Although I am unable to attend any of this year's local remembrance ceremonies due to being in Europe, I will be observing Anzac Day at a ceremony on behalf of New Zealand in Berlin.

At that event, foremost on my mind will be the sacrifices made by our countrymen a century ago who fought and died to make our region and our country the fantastic place it is today.