Fathers of Hunter bus tragedy to lobby AG Michael Daley over manslaughter charges against driver Brett Button
Two fathers of victims killed in the Hunter Valley bus crash have said they are devastated the manslaughter charges against driver Brett Button cannot be reinstated, following an hour-long meeting with the state’s top lawyer.
NSW
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Two fathers of victims killed in the Hunter Valley Bus Crash have said they are devastated the manslaughter charges against bus driver Brett Button cannot be reinstated.
After an hour-long meeting with NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley on Monday morning fathers Matt Mullen and Adam Bray said they were told there was nothing to be done to reverse the charges.
“There is no reinstatement or reinstating the man slaughter charges – it’s already gone through the court,” Mr Bray said.
“This now moves onto reform.”
Mr Bray said the families would now be focused on getting proper sentencing and improving the communication processes of the DPP.
“There’s a huge amount of improvement in the communication to the victims families and the survivors,” he said.
“We’ve just had a commitment and undertaking from the Attorney-General that he will work with us and his team to make sure that the DPP communication is improved.”
It comes after Premier Chris Minns said that parents’ of the Hunter bus crash victims only finding out “at the last minute” that manslaughter charges would be dropped against driver Brett Button is a “concern”, Premier Chris Minns has admitted.
As parents of two of the victims spent Monday morning meeting with Attorney-General Michael Daley pressing for those charges to be reinstated, Mr Minns conceded he was concerned the families of the dead hadn’t been kept in the loop about the charges being dropped.
Mr Button had the manslaughter charges dropped after pleading guilty to 10 counts of dangerous driving causing death.
“I do have concerns about it, having spoken to some of the dads in the last few weeks, who said that they had believed that the prosecution was heading down a particular path (of) manslaughter charges, and then were told the day before (the charges were dropped),” Mr Minns said.
“I think that very honest communication between prosecution authorities and victims of crime needs to be an absolute priority of the government.
“If they believe that they were told about it at the last minute, then as the Premier of course I’ve got concerns about it.
“I can only imagine what those families are going through, the heartache associated with (this) horrible, horrible tragedy, where so many bright young people lost their lives, and they had their futures in front of them.”
‘What does society think is fair?’: Hunter bus crash dads fight for justice
It comes as two desperate fathers were set to carry the memories of their dead children into a meeting with the state’s top lawyer in a last-ditch attempt to have manslaughter charges reinstated against Hunter bus crash driver Brett Button.
Matt Mullen and Adam Bray will meet with Attorney-General Michael Daley on Monday to plead the case against the Director of Public Prosecutions decision to withdraw the serious charges during a plea deal with Button, who has now pleaded guilty to 10 counts of dangerous driving causing death.
They have sought legal advice after an agreed statement of facts, signed by Button, said the bus driver would have been under the influence of the prescribed painkilling opiate Tramadol “to a degree that there would have been some impairment of his driving ability”.
Button had been taking the drug since at least 2016, although the facts said he had suffered a workplace injury in 1994, and that he had been stood down and later resigned from one bus company over using the medication.
The facts also said there was no evidence that Button had told Linq Buses, the company he was driving for on the night of the tragedy after beginning casual employment with them seven months beforehand, that he had been using Tramadol despite compulsory self-reporting.
Button has agreed that blood tests taken after the crash indicated he could have ingested 400mg of Tramadol in the 24 hours before the tragedy.
He has also agreed that Tramadol affects the central nervous system and effects include respiratory depression, euphoria, drowsiness, mental clouding and unsteadiness and impairments to visual memory and functions, comprehension, attention, problem solving and decision making.
Mr Mullen, the father of Newcastle doctor Bec Mullen, said families of victims and survivors were concerned that Button, whose early guilty plea should attract a 25% discount on the most serious charge which carries a maximum of 10 years, may only spend a few years in jail for killing 10 people and injuring another 25 passengers.
He said the case was not simply momentary madness behind the wheel and the facts demonstrated a long history of drug abuse.
“We are very appreciative that the Attorney-General has agreed to a meeting and we are going to see him with cap in hand,” Mr Mullen told The Daily Telegraph.
“And I wish to ask this question – what does society think should be the punishment for a man who has admitted to be addicted to opiates, who was stood down from one job and failed to tell his new employee of his dependency, knew he was affected by drugs,” Mr Mullen said.
“Because it doesn’t matter what I think. My feelings are personally sufficient that my judgement is impaired because I am the father of a person who was aboard that bus, so what he gets is obviously important to me.
“But I would ask what does society think of a person with his history of drug taking, and performing the way he did on that night, what does society think is fair.”
Button will face Newcastle District Court on Thursday after being committed for sentence over the deaths of Bec Mullen, Zach Bray, Darcy Bulman, Andrew and Lynan Scott, Tori Cowburn, Angus Craig, Nadene and Kyah McBride, and Kane Symons.
He also faces nine counts of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm and 16 counts of causing grievous bodily harm by wanton driving.
The appearance on Thursday should be adjourned to a sentence date.
“We are still struggling with the loss of our daughter and we believe the judicial system and the DPP have failed us,” Mr Mullen said.
“This is a last-ditch effort to have him face manslaughter charges by a desperate dad who loves his daughter.”
After the manslaughter charges were withdrawn earlier this month, the DPP released a statement which read: “The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions sympathises deeply with the families of those who lost their lives in this tragic event, and with the victims who were injured.
“The decision to accept a plea of guilty involves complex issues of fact and law. These decisions are always made after close and careful consideration of the evidence and in accordance with the Prosecution Guidelines.”
Originally published as Fathers of Hunter bus tragedy to lobby AG Michael Daley over manslaughter charges against driver Brett Button
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