Last Friday, on a beautiful morning at the Goulburn Academy, we welcomed class 366 to the NSW Police force.

It was, I'm glad to say, the biggest class in 13 years.

When I first attended the ceremony a few years ago, about 90 officers graduated. On Friday we had 314.

This record-breaking class suggests that our decision to pay police officers more and also pay them while studying is working.

The new officers will now be deployed to 57 Police regions across the state, strengthening our capability to fight crime and keep our communities safe.

Strong local policing is particularly important in regional and rural NSW, where officers are trusted community figures and often the first point of support in times of crisis.

While there is more to do, these numbers show that we were right to abolish the Liberal Party's wages cap.

Unfortunately, under that cap, thousands of experienced officers left the force.

We got rid of that policy - so we could give our officers a well-deserved pay rise. We also made the decision to pay our officers while they trained at the Academy in Goulburn.

Firstly, because we couldn't in good conscience ask people to move out to Goulburn, for four months in the middle of winter, and expect them to do it for free.

And secondly, because we wanted to encourage the widest possiblem range of people into this absolutely critical profession.

Since we made that decision, we've had a 72 per cent increase in applications to join the force.

For many in this cohort, becoming a police officer wouldn't have been possible without paid study.

On Friday, our youngest graduate was nineteen and our oldest was fifty-nine.

So we're getting more recruits, but also a wide range of officers, with significant life experience.

Policing is a tough and demanding profession, but it offers extraordinary opportunities for a rewarding career.

On behalf of the people of NSW, I thank the class of 366 for putting their hands up to serve and protect our communities.