Question in Parliament: Adelong Police Station Update
My question is directed to the Minister for Police and Emergency Services. A $1 million announcement to upgrade Adelong police station was made by the New South Wales Government in June 2018, with an indication that work would begin in the first half of 2019. One year on, residents say they are concerned that there appears to be no progress despite repeated inquiries. Will the Minister reassure Adelong residents of the Snowy Valleys Council that progress is being made on the promised Adelong police station?
Response from Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott: Have no fear, Gladys' budget is here. We are going to do everything we possibly can for the people of regional New South Wales. I acknowledge the work of the member for Wagga Wagga. Since the last election and his return to this place we have had a number of conversations about the welfare and good order of police and emergency services in his electorate. He is a tireless advocate for his community and I can assure him and the people of the Riverina that we share his passion for revitalising the Riverina region.
In addition to the $1 million we have already provided for the Wagga Wagga PCYC—a very important piece of infrastructure for ensuring our youth are diverted away from police intervention later in life—we have committed $15 million to the Regional Small Police Station Program, and that funding includes $1 million for the Adelong police station. Our police work tirelessly, 24/7. Many of us who come from metropolitan electorates would not ever fully appreciate the work that is done by regional police officers. They are quite regularly on call 24/7 even though they are paid only in accordance with their current award. It is our responsibility to ensure that they have the resources, the infrastructure and the support they need. I inform the member for Wagga Wagga that a number of potential sites for the new Adelong police station have been investigated and that the NSW Police Force is actively working to ensure that a block of land will be made available.
A fun fact: the Adelong police station was first built 159 years ago, in the year that Ned Kelly was born. Brad Hazzard was there. It was a very important part of our State's history. I can assure the member for Wagga Wagga that we will not be waiting another 159 years for this police station to be built because it will be fast-tracked thanks to its modular building design. Modular police stations are more efficient and more economical; they are built in a factory and therefore construction is not delayed by the weather. Let us hope that in Adelong particularly it rains and it rains a lot, but this police station will not be delayed by the weather. Modular stations are much quicker to construct—much like prisons, as I am sure the corrections Minister is aware, when we went through the Rapid Build Prisons program and the Bay and Basin police station was built in 15 months.
I am advised that negotiations for the preferred site will be finalised in the next few months and construction should be completed in 2020. That will be paid for out of the $100 million provided in the budget for new and upgraded police stations. That $100 million will go towards building new police stations across southern New South Wales, and stations at Bathurst and Bourke will undergo major upgrades. Officers who put their lives on the line can rest assured that this Government will ensure that they will have the best and most modern facilities they deserve. In relation to policing in regional New South Wales it is important to recognise the $35 million the Government is putting into the construction of a state-of-the-art facility in Dubbo, an investment that I know the member for Dubbo is very interested in. This Government's record stands in stark contrast to that of members opposite. While they were in government nearly 50 police stations were closed.