Wednesday, 21 September 2022

 Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (14:06): I rise to update the house on a terrible incident in the Pentland Hills area on the Western Highway this morning. A school bus collided with a truck; I think we are all aware of and have seen the very graphic footage of that incident. I thought it appropriate to update the house that first responders were on the scene very quickly and provided care and support and transport for a number of those 27 female students from Loreto College in Ballarat. There were four adults, the bus driver and of course the truck driver involved as well. There was one child that was airlifted to the Royal Children’s Hospital, and we send our best wishes, our thoughts and our prayers to each and every parent, each and every student, the staff members and their families. This will be an incredibly challenging time for them. The girls were headed for an overseas camp, a space camp involving NASA. They were travelling overseas on what would have been a trip of a lifetime. When you look at the footage of that incident, it is by the grace of something else that it was not more tragic, that there were not lives lost. Our thoughts are with those who are in serious conditions and are receiving the very best of care.

On behalf of the government and the broader community I spoke with Michelle Brodrick, the principal of Loreto, earlier today and provided her with a single senior point of contact so that she does not, at this very difficult and stressful time, need to navigate her way through the government. We have provided her with an assurance that anything any family needs will be provided.

Can I thank staff at Ballarat Base, across Western Health and at the Royal Children’s Hospital and of course our first responders for their commitment, their high levels of skill and their dedication to providing care in the most difficult of circumstances. We know what Loreto students are made of—we work with them every day—and we send our very best wishes to everybody in that school community.