Prime Minister John Howard announced that a re-elected Coalition Government would upgrade a NSW road that collapsed in June, killing a family of five.
Howard said the Government would fully fund upgrades at the site of the collapse on the old Pacific Highway at Somersby, along with a second nearby site that had been identified as unstable.
The announcement was delivered simultaneously with road upgrade promises by Peter Costello in Adelaide and Mark Vaile in Tweed Heads.
Between the three, the Coalition committed $10.5 billion to roads and rail-freight projects on the eastern seaboard.
Howard also made an appearance at the local Erina Fair Shopping Centre, which teetered between success and debacle.
The otherwise warm public response was marred by some nasty comments from passers-by - "Bye, bye John", and, "You are a loser" - and an embarrassing realisation that photos from the day had been taken against the backdrop of an enormous Kevin Rudd advertisement.