Construction fencing at fire station site removed as MP says it’s not in budget

The future of a prime government-owned block at Hervey Bay is uncertain as the city’s new MP claims Labor told voters a fire station furphy while the State Opposition insists it’s not to blame.

Temporary construction fencing removed at the site which was plugged as being the home of the new Hervey Bay Fire Station.

Hervey Bay’s newly minted LNP MP has had construction fencing removed from the prime city centre site where Labor had pledged to build a new fire station.

It comes after Queensland government banners were set up around the block at the corner of Doolong Rd and Main St and the campaign to re-elect former Labor MP Adrian Tantari plugged the new station as a sure thing but never said where the funding would come from.

Speaking to this publication as the fencing was being packed up this week, David Lee said he had “not been able to identify any line item in the budget that indicates that the fire and rescue station is budgeted”.

“Labor has misled the community into thinking the construction of the fire station is imminent,” he said.

“I have requested that the fences be removed immediately.”

These banners were used to promote the new station for Hervey Bay during Labor's election campaign.

A new fire and rescue station for Hervey Bay was first announced by former Emergency Services Minister Mark Ryan in February, 2022 with an expected construction start date of late 2023.

That never happened.

In May this year however, Mr Tantari announced in parliament that the block had been purchased for the station.

The Tantari campaign’s election material listed the project under the “delivered for you” banner alongside several other projects which had not been completed and in the case of the fire station, had not even began.

The one-term MP also referred to the fire station as one of his achievements during the Meet the Candidates forum at the Hervey Bay Golf Club, telling the crowd it and the other projects were “rock solid” as long as he was re-elected.

The empty block, which showed no signs of activity other than a fresh mow ahead of polling day, featured in send-up videos by the Lee campaign and after being sworn in, the LNP member said he was “seeking progress reports” on the fire station and other Labor-promised projects including the new $11 million Hervey Bay police station and multi-storey car park at Hervey Bay hospital.

The Queensland Government banner adorned the fencing during the state election campaign but the only sign of work at the fire station site was a fresh mow.

This publication reached out to the state opposition and asked it to respond to claims Labor misled the people of Hervey Bay, where the funding would have come from for the new fire and rescue station and when construction would have started had the party won the election, but it did not directly address those questions.

Instead, opposition spokesperson for fire Nikki Boyd said in a statement:

“Labor secured the land for the fire station, and it’s now on David Lee and the LNP to deliver it or come clean to the Hervey Bay community and admit they’ll cut it”.

“This week, the LNP took their masks off and revealed their true intentions by cutting nurses and funding to attract frontline health workers to our region – and now it appears they’ll cut our fire stations too,” she said.

However, Mr Lee maintained the promise “was Labor’s pre-election stunt” and not a reality.

“I will now be advocating for a new fire and rescue station,” he said.