Community Recognition Statement - Level Crossing Safety

23 February 2022

Ms JENNY AITCHISON (Maitland) (16:57): Today, 23 February 2022, marks 12 months since Ethan Hunter and Mark Fenton were tragically killed in a level crossing accident at Eurabba Lane near Grenfell. I thank Maddie Bott and the Hunter and Fenton families for the work they have done to raise the issue of level crossing safety across our nation. Maddie's petition raised this issue and brought a debate to this Parliament where members on all sides of politics raised their concerns about the safety of passive level crossings and the lack of action in the 20 years since the tragic accident at Five Mates Crossing at Wagga Wagga. Families from Western Australia have also joined Maddie's campaign. At 5.15 p.m. today we will be lighting a candle for the Eurabba heroes and I urge everyone who is watching to do that as well. As Maddie says, we need to address this issue one track at a time [#OneTrackAtATime] and be transparent about which crossing next [#WhichCrossingNext].