email: [email protected]
TOP
Kim Bax's response
to Tom Barton MP - sent on the 29th January
2004:- TOP
Thankyou for your response.
There are three very important points I need to get across to
you.
Firstly, Mr. Bredhauer has, most definitely, NOT answered the questions I
put to you on 22nd January 2004 - although those questions were put him
(as they they were put to you), on that date.
Secondly, every member of the State parliament has a responsibility to
take a serious and informed position on important issues affecting members
of their electorate. I would have thought "sloughing off"
(so to speak), that responsibility to Steve Bredhauer demonstrates a
serious lack of concern (and interest in), this issue. I will
elaborate.
Professor Peter Joubert HEADED the committees following the
Grafton/Kempsey horror bus crashes (52 dead - many more horribly injured).
He formulated ALL the Australian Design Rules (interstate coaches), and
was awarded the Order of Australia for his services to engineering.
This foremost authority predicts the potential of 50 dead kids and 50
mutilated ones in a school bus crash. Are you seriously telling me
that you REFUSE to comment on whether or not you have read this key
correspondence?
I have also asked whether or not YOU
support the recommendations of the "Queensland School Transport
Safety Task Force" (including their recommendation to fit seatbelts
on school buses over a 15 year period) - and I have asked what YOU
intend to do to promote its
implementation. My inquiry was directed at YOU
- and you should have enough integrity and intelligence to
answer on your own behalf (I assume).
Perhaps you may wish take some advice from Warren Pitt - the ALP
State member for Mulgrave. This gentleman takes the issue of safety
on his local school buses so seriously that he rang me at home last night
(around 8pm - after an exhausting day in his electorate). He spent
an hour on the phone. He's extremely concerned - but then, I suppose
he would be. He's an ex-teacher (as you probably know) - and he
experienced first-hand what it's like for a local community to pull 8 dead
kids out of school bus, and 12 mutilated ones. Gordonvale, Mulgrave
electorate - 1987 (in case you've forgotten). Mr. Warren Pitt is
obviously not satisfied with delegating his responsibilities to Steve
Bredhauer.
Secondly, I am co-ordinating a Queensland wide campaign to improve school
bus safety. As part of this lobbying, I am seeking feedback from every
member of the State Parliament on this issue.
I assume Waterford is in the State of Queensland - and the children in
Waterford use school transport?
I look forward to some further correspondence from you - correspondence
that (hopefully), does not seek to avoid reasonable questions -
questions which are of key concern to many members of your electorate
(judging from the phone calls I've received).
Regards - Kim Bax (mum)
TOP
A further email
from Tom Barton MP - sent on the 26th February
2004:-
TOP
Dear Ms Bax
The Minister has asked
me to thank you for your email of 19 February 2004, further to
earlier correspondence regarding school bus safety and school bus
seatbelts.
As this matter falls
within the portfolio responsibilities of the Hon Paul Lucas MP,
Minister for Transport and Main Roads, a copy of your letter has been
forwarded to Mr Lucas's office for his
consideration.
Once again, thank you
for bring this matter to the attention of the Minister.
Yours sincerely
MARK SYMONS
A/Senior Policy Advisor
Kim Bax's
response to Tom Barton's email of 26th Feb 2004 - sent to him on the
26th Feb 2004:-
TOP
Dear Mark,
Can you please tell Tom that I am not writing to him in his capacity
as Minister - I'm not an idiot, I realise Transport doesn't fall
within Mr. Barton's portfolio. However, he IS the member for
Waterford. As such, he represents (or should do), the interests
of the people of Waterford - and it is in THAT capacity that I am
writing to him.
As I assume Mr. Barton is an intelligent adult (who understands
the above point as clearly as I do), it reflects very poorly on him
that I even have to write those lines.
AGAIN - after an interval of five weeks and one
explicit reminder notice - I find myself putting the initial questions
to Mr. Barton again:-
- Have you read the full
text of Professor Joubert's letter (available at www.geocities.com/seatbelts2004
) ? Professor Joubert is the author of all the current
Australian Design Rules (in relation to interstate coaches), he's
been awarded the Order of Australia in relation to his services to
engineering and he headed the committees in the wake of the
Kempsey/Grafton bus crash horror (1989 - 52 dead, many more horribly
injured).
- Do you unequivocally
support the FULL implementation of the recommendations of the
Queensland "Task Force" within the life of the next
Parliament (2004/2007)?
- In what practical ways
do you (or have already), intend to support/advocate for the full
implementation of "Task Force" recommendations? (e.g., for
instance, speaking in parliament, writing letters, serving on
committees etc.)
I would also remind Mr. Barton of the final paragraph in my last email
to him of 29th January 2004:-
"I look forward to some further
correspondence from you - correspondence that (hopefully), does
not seek to avoid reasonable questions - questions which
are of key concern to many members of your electorate (judging from
the phone calls I've received)."
My questions to Mr. Barton of 22nd January
2004 (reproduced above), still stand - and five weeks later, Mr.
Barton has still not answered them. What is it about
seatbelting children that he finds so difficult? Also, doesn't
he want to admit to reading a letter (from Australia's top expert),
that predicts (potentially), 50 dead kids in school bus
accident? Surely to God, he has a responsibility to take a
serious look at that kind of documentation.
Regards - Kim Bax
PS - I will update my website with this correspondence this
evening.
TOP
4 weeks
later, on the 26th March 2004, Tom Barton still hadn't replied to
Kim Bax's email of 26th Feb 2004 - so she sent him a
reminder:- TOP
From Kim Bax, mum & school bus seatbelt campaigner -
Beaudesert Shire
Goodmorning Tom,
I would draw your attention to my unanswered correspondence of
26th February 2004 (over 4 weeks ago). For your
convenience, it can be accessed via this link:-
Also for your convenience, here's a direct link to my original
questions of 22nd January 2004:-
And here's a link to a complete record of our correspondence to
date on this issue:-
You might also be interested in my "media diary":-
I've also got to update my "media diary" section this
morning. I've had an email from the Queensland Nurses Union.
They're adding a link from my site to their's - and using one of
the pics I took (of kids crammed into a schoolbus).
All the best - Kim
PS - as this is such a vital issue, I'll be sending reminder
notices to all Queensland members (at 4 weekly intervals), until
satisfactory answers are received (defined as something that
actually acknowledges/addresses my original questions - not an
unreasonable expectation). I will continue to do this
throughout this current 3 year Parliamentary term. At an
opportune moment towards the end of this current term, I'll be
contacting the local media of Members who have continued to
ignore the issue of child safety (as regards seatbelting them in
moving vehicles) - and directing that local media to my
meticulously kept web records of correspondence (plus, of
course, all the the other graphic information my site contains).
PPS - You may be more interested in expert opinions,
rather than my more humble ones. Here's a link to an
article from the Australian Medical Association News
(Queensland). I warn you though, it is rather graphic:-
This
is Tom Barton MP. Click on the picture to email him.
This
is Kim Bax, mum. Click on the picture to email me