There is only one suitable, shovel-ready site for the Tweed’s new police station and emergency services centre and that is the land on the corner of Cudgen and Tweed Coast Roads.
This site has the support of Tweed Shire Council, Tweed Nationals MP Geoff Provest, the Tweed’s three leading business chambers, most Tweed police officers and the wider community.
It is true that local Police Association representatives have expressed support for the band-aid solution of expanding the existing police station on Marine Parade in Kingscliff, but they have taken this position out of frustration at the long delays we have already seen. The previous Labor Government first promised the new station more than four years ago and did absolutely nothing until they were thrown out of office earlier this year.
Using Marine Parade is not only a waste of prime real estate, it is completely impractical. It is in the middle of a long stretch of 50 km/h road, it is comparatively remote, and it will be cut off in times of severe floods. It makes about as much sense as Canberra’s bizarre five-for-one asylum seeker swap with Malaysia.
The Cudgen site has none of these drawbacks. It needn’t mean further delays in construction, since Council has already approved the site and it also has the benefit of potentially also accommodating the fire and ambulance services.
This is the state of the art police facility the Tweed needs and deserves, and we should all get behind Geoff Provest’s efforts to make sure it becomes a reality as quickly as possible.
Idwall Richards
Chairman
