Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to acknowledge and pay tribute to a bus driver whose quick thinking and skill protected 80 schoolchildren who attend class in the Paterson electorate. According to the Sydney Morning Herald it was Mr Ron Elworthy’s cool nerve that saved these students from a potentially disastrous situation. Allow me to paint you a picture of the frightening event that took place in my electorate earlier this month. Mr Elworthy was on his usual school run, picking up the children from Irrawang High School at Raymond Terrace on a Monday afternoon. The trip was going as usual until the bus reached a left-hand bend along Richardson Road. As the bus turned, the two back wheels became dislodged and flung off, leaving the bus lopsided with the axels digging into the ground. The wheels dangerously rolled into oncoming traffic and then off into Grahamstown Dam. The bus began to swerve dangerously across the road, making it nearly impossible to control.

The safety of the passengers was compromised, as the bus could have crashed at any moment, but Mr Elworthy fought to get the bus and all of its passengers to safety. He dropped the gears down until he was eventually able to bring the bus to a stop. Police officers at the scene noted that it took great skill to exercise such control. As a result of Mr Elworthy’s expertise at the wheel and his quick thinking in the face of danger, all of the students made it off the bus without any injuries. As the Nine News reported on 9 February, the Principal of Irrawang High School, Mr Col Elliott, walked around the school the next morning to check up on the students involved. As he told AAP: ‘None of them were upset. They didn’t require any counselling.’

I consider the actions of Mr Elworthy very heroic, and I am sure that my feelings are shared by all of the children that were on the bus and by their friends and their families. Without him, things surely could have been far worse. It is for this reason that I wish to praise Mr Elworthy’s efforts. As the member for Paterson, the safety and prosperity of my constituents is my No. 1 concern. I am extremely grateful to have such a competent individual looking after them. It is important to acknowledge local heroes like Mr Elworthy. Too often we forget to thank the everyday people who make our lives safe. While Mr Elworthy is a modest man and claims that luck was on his side, it is possible that a less-capable driver would not have been able to save themselves or the students on board. I would again like to thank Mr Elworthy for his actions in preventing a possible tragedy and for keeping our kids safe on their way to and from school.