Tuesday, 21 March 2023

Members statements

Mick Morland

Brad BATTIN (Berwick) (12:45): I rise today in relation to Mick Morland, who on 24 June 2017 lost his life at the age of 67 in Berwick. It was at an intersection which is just near the botanical gardens there, opposite Coniston Avenue. This is an intersection that people have raised issues with around safety for a long period of time. I know from having discussions with Mrs Morland on this that she has raised some of the issues around the need for lights at the intersection. Whilst highlighting the fact that she lost her husband at that intersection, she is now campaigning and fighting, because we do not want to see this happen to anyone else in the future. I know that Kay has put on record that she does not want this to happen to another family.

Unfortunately we have had another accident at this intersection just in the last couple of weeks where a young person has ended up in a critical condition in hospital due to an accident very, very close to that same intersection. This is an intersection that has got more and more dangerous, not just because of car traffic but also because of pedestrian traffic, because the botanical gardens have become a very popular place for my community to go, which was highlighted during COVID. It was a place that many people used to use within their 5 kilometres for walking. Now we have a situation where kids are crossing the road for a bus stop on either side to get to and from school and people are using it to get across to the botanical gardens and parking in unsafe positions. We need to start to find ways that we can make this intersection safer. Whether that is lights or other alternatives, I would love to work with the government to fix the problem.