Page: 18788
Personal Explanation
Mr ANDREW FRASER (Coffs Harbour) [9.17 p.m.], by leave: I wish to unreservedly apologise to the Minister for Roads and members of this House for my actions this evening. I was gravely out of line in my action towards the Minister tonight. Claims by the Minister that I had deserted my electorate when he recently visited my electorate are totally untrue. In fact, the Minister did not advise me that he would be in my electorate. I was travelling to Yass to attend the funeral of the father of my colleague the honourable member for Burrinjuck.
The Pacific Highway at Pine Creek and Bonville has claimed 13 lives since 2003 and injured 49 people. Many of the people who have died or been injured are personally known to me. As the local member, I, along with local health workers and emergency service workers, have to face the families to console them in their grief. A Minister of the Crown politicised the issue. I do not resile from the comments I made in relation to Minister Tripodi's misrepresentation of the facts in relation to the Pacific Highway or his misleading statements in relation to this issue. I do, however, reiterate my unreserved apology to him and members of this House for my actions this evening.