The Daily Examiner's new editor, David Bancroft, was not impressed by the National Party this week:
THERE is little more off-putting than seeing politicians attempting to make political capital out of tragedy.
Despite the obvious insensitivity and the offence it can cause to people grieving, MPs of all political persuasions seem to find it necessary to trot out one of their favourite soap box topics for the media at a time when the focus should be on the people who are directly affected by tragic events.
This week it was NSW Nationals leader, Andrew Stoner, who could not avoid the temptation to have a crack at the Rees Government over the condition of the Pacific Highway.
Stoner was probably right in what he was saying - that the condition of the highway leaves a lot to be desired - but his decision to use the 20th anniversary of the Cowper bus crash, in which 20 people died, as the catalyst for media comment left me feeling cold......
I remember having the same feeling when the politicians flew into the site on October 20, 1989, and started talking about the condition of the highway rather than displaying empathy for those who had died or been injured.
One of those was another National Party leader, Wal Murray.
The fact is, the condition of the highway was bad then and remains bad. Fewer lives would be lost if governments did what they promised and made the highway dual divided carriageway.
But the primary cause of that accident was not the highway, it was the fact that the truck driver was high on drugs.
A survivor remembers the horror and grief of the 1989 Cowper bus crash
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