The mother of Singleton bus crash victim Rebecca Mullen has given a harrowing account of her "torment" in the hours and weeks after the accident and how the justice system has failed her family.
Upper Hunter MP Dave Layzell read out a statement from Leanne Mullen in Parliament on Wednesday night which takes aim at the Director of Public Prosecutions for accepting a plea deal with bus driver Brett Button.
Button pleaded guilty last week to 10 counts of dangerous driving causing death and multiple other changes after the DPP agreed to downgrade manslaughter charges levelled against him.
Ms Mullen said in her statement that she had endured the pain of her daughter's body remaining in the bus at the crash site for 48 hours in the expectation that police were gathering evidence to bring the driver to justice.
"I did that because I had a strong belief, a trust, that in sacrificing my rights as a mother to hold my daughter close as she left this earth the police were gathering evidence that could be used to ensure justice was done in relation to this crime," she said.
"Accountability would come by using the evidence they collected over those 48 hours.
"That my sacrifice as a mum would be worth something meaningful in time.
"Sadly, it wasn't the case. My daughter and her friends weren't worth the effort of a trial."
Ten people died and many others were injured when a bus carrying 36 wedding guests rolled over on a roundabout in Wine Country Drive at Greta on June 11 last year.
Mr Layzell told Parliament that the plea deal was significant for the families because the manslaughter charges carried a 25-year maximum sentence compared with 10 years for dangerous driving.
"Knowing that the sentence will almost certainly be less than the maximum, and with a 25 per cent reduction due to the guilty plea, an offender could be out on parole in just a few years," he said.
The following is the full transcript of Ms Mullen's statement, as read out in Parliament:
"As you know, my daughter Rebecca Mullen was one of the 10 people who lost their lives in the Hunter Valley bus crash on 11 June 2023, almost 12 months ago.
"On that night we received a call from friends travelling behind the bus about what had happened and, told that they couldn't find Bec, our son spoke with a person very close to us who told him that Bec had passed away.
"When we arrived, we were kept away from the scene by police who I acknowledge were doing their job in a respectful and responsible manner.
"I wonder if anyone can imagine what it is like to live with the fact that you stood 20 metres away from your daughter's dead body, being denied access to your baby girl.
"What it is like to repeatedly try and hold your husband and son back from their desperate attempts to get to her.
"To listen to police being quite vague and using terms like 'missing' and 'unaccounted for' in reference to someone that you love.
"To know that you couldn't hold your baby close, whilst her body was still warm and her spirit still evident.
"To not be able to kiss her forehead, hold her hand, tell her we were there for her, that she was not alone and say all you needed to say about how much she was loved, how proud we were of the person she had become, how we promise we will carry her memory with us for as long as we live.
"Being denied these moments have tormented me.
"In fact, as I have slowly gained more knowledge, the first 48 hours after the incident haunt me.
"I didn't know this at the time as we were blocking all information from news outlets to try and deal with what had occurred in private.
"My daughter ceased being a person that night, instead becoming a piece of scientific evidence.
"Not blaming the police, they were doing their job, but that is the harsh reality.
"Her body was an object to be studied, measured, photographed.
"I wonder if anyone realises that my daughter's body laid with her friends in the cold, inside the bus, against the concrete gutter and metal guard rail for close to 48 hours before she was moved.
"It is irrational in all ways, I know, but I am haunted knowing how cold it was on those nights and I wasn't there for her.
"It keeps going over and over in my head that, if I had been paying attention, I could have taken her a blanket and asked that they keep her warm.
"I want people to think back to the footage shown to the nation repeatedly of the bus being on its side. My daughter is in there.
"Footage of the bus being righted, it bouncing on the road as it landed.
"It was a 'delicate' operation, apparently, as the victims were still inside the bus, it was reported.
"My head has been torturing me constantly thinking about what they did to my daughter's body during that process.
"Was she tied down, was she taped down, was she so tangled in the seats that she didn't move, did they just let her fall?
"Every scenario, over and over in my head, night after night.
"We did not get to see our daughter for over two weeks after the accident, and when we did it was in a cold and sterile morgue.
"I have kept this part of my grief and journey over the last 11 months to myself.
"I did that because I had a strong belief, a trust, that in sacrificing my rights as a mother to hold my daughter close as she left this earth the police were gathering evidence that could be used to ensure justice was done in relation to this crime.
"Accountability would come by using the evidence they collected over those 48 hours.
"That my sacrifice as a mum would be worth something meaningful in time.
"Sadly, it wasn't the case. My daughter and her friends weren't worth the effort of a trial.
"I have lost my faith and trust in justice. The powerlessness of it all is crippling. The realisation that the truth is not your right to understand is confronting.
"It has torn apart any progress we have made recovering from this nightmare we find ourselves in.
"I am the one with the life sentence of knowing that the people who could make a difference decided that they would not fight to properly honour Rebecca and her friends in the way they deserve.
"They decided to do what was easy and timely, rather than what was right.
"I cannot reconcile that in my head at all and will be hurt by this decision every day for the rest of my life."
Mr Layzell said he had read out the statement to allow Ms Mullen's voice "a chance to be heard".
"May the victims rest in peace," he said.
"May the victim-survivors' journey of recovery continue, and may the families remember that the love of our community will always be there for them, as we know that their grief will be eternal."
He said it was important to place on the public record the impact of the DPP's decision on the family and friends of the victims.
A DPP spokesperson said on Thursday that the DPP "acknowledges that this is a very distressing time for the families and that some are disappointed by the decision to accept guilty pleas to charges of dangerous driving causing death".
"The decision was made after close and careful consideration of the evidence, in accordance with the prosecution guidelines and after ongoing consultation with the families of the victims," the spokesperson said.
"We understand the concerns of the victims and the victims' families.
"While the ODPP takes into account their very important views, the final decision is a legal decision made by reference to many factors, including the evidence in the particular case."
