Plans for new Hervey Bay Police Station

Plans have been revealed for a new $14m Hervey Bay Police Station as state leaders speak out about escalating crime in the fast-growing seaside city. VIDEO.

Hervey Bay was a quiet fishing village when its current police station first opened.

Now, the city is finally getting a fit-for-purpose station that meets the population and social changes of the past four decades.

The first $100,000 for the $14m project was allocated in the recently released state budget and on Tuesday, state leaders spoke about the plans.

It comes as crime statistics, particularly car theft and assault, continue to worsen in the region.

Speaking to reporters at the Hervey Bay station, Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan said the time had come for an “upgrade and renewal” of the current Hervey Bay police facility.

“This police station here is almost 40-years-old,” Mr Ryan said.

“And if you think about how Hervey Bay has changed in 40 years with population growth, but also the type of policing work has changed as well.”

Assistant Commissioner for the North Coast Region Brian Connors said the current police station was designed for policing in a different era.

“It’s a tremendous outcome for the police in the Wide-Bay Burnett District, this station has been in operation since the early 1980s … so it’s well and truly outlived its usefulness,” he said

“That being said, we still do the best we can from the station that’s here behind me, but it is designed for policing in a different era, it’s not as functional as it could be, and I think any improvements to working conditions will be greatly received by local police and ultimately by the community.”

Mr Ryan said the next 12 months would be dedicated to planning and design work, and construction of the $14m facility would begin in the next financial year.

“We’ll move as quickly as we can through those planning, designing and construction stages …” he said.

While a final decision hadn’t been made, Mr Ryan said the intention was to upgrade the existing station.

He also highlighted the North Coast Police Region, which includes Hervey Bay, would receive 150 police officers coming over the next few years, which he said was one of the reasons why the new police station was being built.

“Most of the time we build these police facilities for 40-50 years, so we need to think about how we’re engaging the community now and how that might look in the future,” he said.

The new station will be among the first in the state to have “multi-agency collaborations”, connecting different police agencies and domestic violence support services under the same roof.

Hervey Bay Police Station is roughly 40 years old.

Asked what was being done to combat crime rates in Hervey Bay, particular unlawful use of motor vehicle offences which were significantly up, Mr Ryan highlighted stronger youth bail laws and “better co-operation” between agencies, like child safety and youth justice, to prevent kids getting into crime.

“Relatively recently we changed the laws around youth bail, they’re now the toughest laws in the nation and we’ve seen an immediate impact on that,” he said

“We’re seeing more youth offenders, particularly those youth offenders, who are recidivist car thieves being held in custody for longer … and that is obviously disrupting their offending.”

Mr Ryan said Hervey Bay police were currently working hard to prevent crime in the community and he was prepared to meet with local business owners who had been impacted by ongoing damage and break-in offences.

“Police are working very proactively through the community and through businesses about how best to prevent crime, it was only a couple of weeks ago that we launched an initiative in this region in Maryborough around the community camera alliance, and that is about proactive work and also being able to get the evidence to apprehend offenders sooner …

“Obviously our police have good connections with businesses and community and they’ll continue to build on those as well”.

Assistant Commissioner Brian Connors.

During his visit to Hervey Bay last month, Shadow Police Minister Dale Last said skyrocketing crime rates, particularly with car theft, threatened to “rip the heart out of Hervey Bay”.

On Tuesday, the police Minister did not deny crime trends were a challenge for the area.

“Well obviously from time to time there are instances when crime rates go up, but there are also instances when crime rates go down,” he said

“And I know police in this region are very proactive around working with other agencies as well as the community to apprehend offenders very quickly …”

“Certainly the government’s backing its strong words with action, not only investment in more police for this region, the North Coast Region, but those tougher laws, and certainly we’re keen to continue to support the police with resourcing, personnel as well as equipment to ensure that they can keep in front of criminal offending and where people are offending, to apprehend them quickly.

Assistant Commissioner Connors added local crime was taken “very seriously” explaining police had met with a number of local businesses, as well as council and government departments, regarding community concerns.

Hervey Bay MP Adrian Tantari said a new station for Hervey Bay was one of his election promises and that pledge had now “come to fruition”.

“It’s great to know through my advocacy we’ve got the $14m that was needed for Hervey Bay …” Mr Tantari said.

“With the growth in Hervey Bay, it’s recognised that we’re a growing city and that we need to have this new police station to facilitate the growth in officers that are coming into the area, and also just the growth of policing in the area, it’s all about keeping the community safe.”

Mr Ryan also made reference to the new water police facility for Hervey Bay which is currently in the planning phase, along with identifying the appropriate site for a new Hervey Bay fire station.

Progress of the new Maryborough Fire & Rescue Services Station. Photo: Bruce Saunders, Facebook.

Meanwhile in Maryborough, Mr Ryan met with Maryborough MP Bruce Saunders at the city’s fire station on Alice Street, which is in the process of being redeveloped.

It is just one of the regional Queensland Fire and Emergency Services headquarters being upgraded, with the State Government investing a total of $14.5 million in facilities across the state.

“In addition to this impressive site, a commitment has now been made to funding towards another site for a new Rural Fire Service Maryborough Area brigade headquarters, including a QFES training facility, meeting rooms, an incident control centre and deployment facilities,” Mr Ryan said.

“One million dollars also has been committed to the RFS facilities program, which will be allocated to maintaining and upgrading stations across the state, as well as $500,000 in capital grants which will go directly to RFS brigades.

“A number of new rural fire stations will be constructed around the state, to safely accommodate and maintain assets. In addition, these stations will provide a venue to support brigade and area training activities.”

Mr Saunders said this year’s budget prioritised future-proofing the state’s fire and emergency services, including funding for multiple new and upgraded RFS stations.

“Our fire services provide exceptional service to their community and the State Government is committed to ensuring they have the best resources and facilities possible at their fingertips,” he said.

“I am particularly pleased that our hard-working and dedicated volunteers in Maryborough are being backed with funding from the State Government to ensure they have the resources to continue the marvellous work they do in protecting our community.’’

QFES Commissioner Greg Leach said additional funding placed into assets and infrastructure would greatly benefit QFES’ more than 28,000 RFS volunteers.

“Our RFS volunteers work year-round, not only fighting bushfires but also undertaking bushfire mitigation, community education and providing emergency response to a wide range of incidents,” he said.

“In recent years we have watched as our volunteers worked tirelessly to protect their communities from devastating bushfires and their heroic efforts cannot be understated.

“Funding new and upgraded facilities, like this complex at Maryborough, provides backing to RFS volunteers as they continue their extraordinary work.”