(1) Further to the answer to question no 1758 regarding the proposed Murrumbateman by-pass, (a) who is the author of the letter referred to in the first paragraph of the letter, (b) to whom is it written, (c) on what date was it written and (d) is a copy of that letter available; if so where.

(2) With respect to that part of the answer which states that apart from a small section of Council-owned land the entire route remains in private ownership, what area was resumed by the then Department of Main Roads in 1969 from the property of Hawthorne, Vale View, Merryville and Hillview for the stated purpose of an ultimate dual carriageway.

(3) When will the preferred Route Selection Report completed by Connell Wagner Pty Ltd be formally released for public consideration.

(4) How many public sector Departments and agencies have been consulted in the preparation of the Connell Wagner Report and of these organisations, have any expressed a dissenting opinion from the recommendation in the report; if so (a) how many and (b) which Department and agencies.

(5) When will he make a decision on the preferred route for the Murrumbateman by-pass.

(1) I wrote the letter to Mr John Turner MP, NSW Member for Myall Lakes on 9 June 2000. I have not made this letter publicly available.

(2) The Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) has advised that none of the land acquired by the NSW Government in the 1960s and the 1970s for road works on the Barton Highway from the four properties mentioned was purchased for an ultimate dual carriageway.

(3) The Route Selection Report was released on 1 May 2001 for public comment up to 14 June 2001.

(4) The Route Selection Report states that Connell Wagner sought the views of a number of NSW and Commonwealth agencies following the July 2000 Value Management Study. These views are set out in Section 5 of the Report. I am unaware of the agencies views, if any, on the Report's recommendations.

(5) I expect to make a decision after the RTA has reported to my Department on the outcome of the public consultation and I have considered advice from my Department.