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School children across the NSW Lower Hunter have missed out on a new plan to install seatbelts on school buses, outraging safety advocates and parents who say roads in the region are just as dangerous as those in country NSW.
Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian announced yesterday that school children in "rural and regional NSW" would begin buckling up by the end of this financial year, with seatbelts to be installed on school buses for the first time in the state's history.
However, the plan excludes bus contract regions in metropolitan and outer-metropolitan NSW, meaning thousands of students who catch the bus to school in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock and Port Stephens will miss out.
The $208 million rollout does mean that school buses in Singleton - where nine-year-old Harry Dunn was killed last September - as well as Muswellbrook and Dungog will be covered under the 10-year plan.
Kate Washington, a former ALP candidate for Port Stephens who has been fighting for safety improvements on buses and has three daughters travelling from Medowie to Newcastle every day, slammed the plan's inconsistency.
‘‘So this effectively means that our kids, who experience the exact dangers referred to by Minister Berejiklian, are effectively excluded,’’ Ms Washington said. ‘‘Our kids all travel long distances on 80km/h to 100km/h roads daily, sharing the road with heavy vehicles and yet they aren’t considered ‘at risk’ enough to gain the benefit of seatbelts on their buses.
‘‘The government has drawn some arbitrary lines on a map without any regard to what actually happens on the ground.’’
Ms Berejiklian said seatbelts would be progressively installed and standing would be phased out on almost 1700 dedicated school services.
‘‘The NSW government is making a substantial financial commitment to addressing an issue which is so important to communities in regional and rural areas,’’ she said.
Jo Gordon’s three children catch the bus from Aberglasslyn to Lochinvar, meaning a journey on the New England Highway, shared with semi-trailers and other heavy vehicles.
‘‘I don’t see the difference between roads in Maitland and those in Singleton or Muswellbrook, she said.
‘‘Overloaded buses and children having to stand up is something we really worry about.
‘‘You always want what’s safest for your children and I think phasing out standing on buses and installing seatbelts is a good move for every region.’’
Mount Olive’s Cindy Dippel, whose four children attend Singleton Public School, said the announcement, and Singleton’s inclusion, was a relief.
‘‘Travelling on the school bus is a huge concern for us, the accident last year [Harry Dunn’s death] brought it all home for us,’’ she said.
Ms Dippel said there was concern about the plan’s logistics and its enforcement.
Former Greens MP Cate Faehrmann, who has campaigned for the installation of seatbelts for years, labelled yesterday’s announcement a ‘‘victory for regional communities’’ but urged the government not to cut corners during the rollout.
A spokesman for BusNSW, speaking on behalf of the private industry, said the decision to limit the phase-in to dedicated school buses was a reasonable compromise.