A union says the assassination attempt of former US president Donald Trump demonstrates the need for Australian politicians to show their support for federal police officers who must also put their lives on the line in similar situations.
The Australian Federal Police Association is engaged in a fierce campaign to improve pay and conditions for its rank and file members, who not only protect politicians as close personal protection officers but also provide community policing services to the ACT government.
Negotiations on a new enterprise bargaining agreement agreement have stalled largely due to a pay rise cap imposed by Australian Public Service Commission's cap of 11.2 per cent over three years.
Police were offered $871 in a one-off cash payment to close the deal, while the United Firefighters Union aviation branch members, also under a Commonwealth award because they are employed by Air Services Australia, received a $6000 sign-on bonus.
The president of the Australian Federal Police Association, Alex Caruana, said the actions of the US Service Service in rushing to shield Mr Trump provided a stark reminder of how the low-profile, non-uniformed, highly trained CPP members risk their lives to provide that same service to Australian politicians but are burnt out by little downtime and insufficient compensation.
"These are the same [CPP] officers that protect the Prime Minister, his political colleagues, and at times, their families, with their lives," he said.
"They are the same police officers that will be accompanying politicians around the country and stand between them and danger".
"Yet, these politicians seem content to think it is okay that their protectors are the lowest base-paid police officers in the country.
"I am now asking myself the question, what is a [Close Personal Protection member's] life worth?"
Results from a federal police association survey were disparaging of the most recent pay and conditions offer from the AFP.
So the AFP responded by conducting its own internal survey, hoping to get a better result.
However, the AFP survey only confirmed the dissatisfaction levels within federal police ranks, with 65 per cent having a negative sentiment toward the current and capped 11.2 per cent offer. Over the border, NSW police are demanding a 25 per cent increase over four years and better superannuation.
New allowances are also on the AFP bargaining table including payments for rapid deployment, unsociable hours, workplace responsibility and use of force but all received mixed levels of support.
Mr Caruana said that risks were steadily increasing for police and they should be paid accordingly, with federal officers sitting on the lowest base rate in the country.
"It was only a few weeks ago we experienced four protesters breach and get onto the roof of Parliament House in Canberra," he said.
"Let us change the scenario: What would have happened if those four protesters were armed with high powered firearms and started shooting?
"How quickly would the AFP, including ACT Policing, have been able to respond?
"It ultimately comes down to a resourcing issue, and is not a criticism of anyone, it is a simple question.
"Just because it has not happened to date, does not mean it could not happen in the future. We live in uncertain times.
"There are a large number of questions that need to be answered about that incident and resourcing of the AFP is one of those, along with the budget."
