Bettington Road Traffic Accident, Memorial Correspondence from PM Scott Morrison

Dear OGC Members,

My email on Saturday morning (10th July) referred to a letter from the Prime Minister to our President on a memorial to the four children who lost their lives in the terrible accident in February 2020, and the media coverage of that letter over the weekend.  While we would not normally share a private letter, the Office of the Prime Minister allowed it to become available publicly prior to it being received by George.  We therefore consider members have a right to read what has become a public document. A copy of the Prime Minister’s letter is available by clicking on the link below for you to read if you care to do so, and you can draw your own conclusions on the content of the letter.

Click here for a copy of the Prime Minister’s letter tom the Club

We only wish to make two points to you in regard to the letter:

1. No one from the Prime Minister’s Office contacted the Club, prior to writing the letter or since, to discuss the process the Club has been through with the families, or other affected parties, such as members or neighbours, particularly those who were among the first responders to the scene. That means the Prime Minister’s letter has been written without properly researching the background to the many discussions.
2. In those many discussions over more than 12 months, the Club and the families could not reach agreement on what would constitute a modest memorial. In the end we remained far apart, so we do not intend to re-open discussion on a memorial. We will send the Prime Minister a response to his letter, but we consider the response should remain confidential, so we will not share that with members.

Sincerely,

Sam Howe
Oatlands Golf Club General Manager
On behalf of the Board of Directors