Here is my request: Could all media please makes sure this specific accident gets extensive and detailed follow-up reporting for at least a year. 

It seems to me that many news stories get a lot of attention when they happen, but public interest wanes, so we don't get enough detail about these accidents' repercussions as they unfold.

Maybe I am wrong, but follow-up stories rarely seem to make the front page or lead TV or radio news. I know some of this is due to sub judice and privacy laws (so personal, legal and medical details are tricky to report), but I wonder whether things might improve on our roads, even slightly, if there was more cause-and-effect reporting about the lead-up events and long-term results of accidents like this. 

Emergency services and hospital staff work hard and courageously over long, anti-social hours, but so do the journalists who cover these traumatic events.

For this we are very grateful, because without being able to read about how terrible these road accidents truly are - and how many lives and generations they shatter - we will keep on taking the risks that cause them. 

I hope people who are following this horrific Boxing Day story will rethink a decision they might be making to drive after a having a couple of drinks or use drugs of any kind; to drive at speed, overtake or tailgate dangerously - or even drive while texting.

These are all things we see every single day on our South Coast roads. Maybe families and friends will be able to discuss the results of these dangerous decisions in more context.

Maybe public pressure after the results of these investigations will trigger reviews into roads funding and the safety laws around disqualified drivers or alcohol and drug use (even prescription) as a result. We are all sick to death of these shocking, senseless accidents. 

Let’s work together to stop them happening.  

I’ve recently become aware of just how much I distrust Turnbull. His stupid smile constantly displayed, masks … well, we don’t know, do we? Before becoming PM he had definite positions on critical issues. Now, his position on critical issues changes in the wind. He is without doubt the most disappointing politician I can recall. As SMH political editor Peter Hartcher wrote very recently, “So far in Turnbull’s prime ministership he’s been ready to dump policies, positions, principles and personnel to hold his position. It’s been  the only consistent thread running through his term-survival at any cost.” This then is our great leader, supporter of Adani, champion of Liddell coal power station, backflipping on the bank royal commission, but importantly, a good Christian.

Why do I say this? I say it to clearly show his hypocrisy and lack of good faith. He says he cares about climate change, then supports Adani and Liddell. He cares about people being exploited by the banks and then tries to block a royal commission. He cares about refugees’ lives being lost at sea and then ignores their plight on Manus and Nauru. He cares about the child abuse perpetrated by Christian priests and staff on little children, and now remains pitifully silent when it comes to implementing the findings of the royal commission. It’s time to stop pussy footing around with the churches – force them to pay compensation to victims – we know they can afford it. Don’t tell us your prayers are with these people, with a stupid smile on your face.