Mayor’s hospital outrage

TWEED Mayor Katie Milne says her community should not be held to ransom over a new $534 million hospital site just because the NSW Government has neglected the shire for years.

The proposed Tweed Valley Hospital has to be built within four years before the existing Tweed Heads Hospital descends into a state of crisis, according to government information.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard says there is no time to waste in building a new state-of-the-art facility at the Cudgen Rd site near Kingscliff.

Cr Milne said at a council meeting yesterday it was “appalling” the NSW Government was holding desperate need for improved healthcare over the community’s head.

“It isn’t the community’s fault the hospital is in such a crisis, this is a failure of the State Government since way back,” she said.

Farmers, Greens, Kingscliff residents and others in the community have protested against the Government’s chosen site for the new hospital.

They argue it should not be built on an area deemed State Significant Farmland, it will ruin the coastal charm of Kingscliff, and retirees have invested in Tweed Heads to be near the current hospital.

Councillors voted last week to agitate for more transparency in the site selection process. But yesterday Councillors Warren Polglase and James Owen proposed a rescission motion to stop agitating and let the project move ahead. The motion was lost four-two.

Minister Hazzard said the Mayor wanted a war fought on her terms and was not willing to move forward.