Labor has officially hitched its cart to the Kings Forest development as Albo takes shots at chosen hospital site

AFTER months of debate, Labor has officially hitched its cart to the Kings Forest development as Albo takes shots at the chosen hospital site for Tweed.

Anthony Albanese and the State Labor Candidate for Tweed, joins Cudgen farmer Hayley Paddon. Pic Scott Powick

FEDERAL Labor heavyweight Anthony Albanese has elbowed his way in the controversial debate on the Tweed Hospital.

Mr Albanese was on the red soil in Cudgen yesterday near where the NSW State LNP Government has chosen to build its proposed $534 million hospital.

He was campaigning with Federal Member for Richmond Justine Elliot in their push to give her husband Craig the win in the March state election.

PROTESTS PLANNED GOT CUDGEN TWEED HOSPITAL SITE

Anthony Albanese and the State Labor Candidate for Tweed, joins local farmer Hayley Paddon in Cudgen to discuss the Nationals' plan to build a new hospital. pic Scott Powick

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The site chosen by the LNP has divided the community.

Kingscliff residents, farmers and environmentalists have argued the hospital would ruin the coastal feel of Kingscliff and was a waste of the State Significant Farmland.

Tweed candidate Mr Elliot has said the upcoming election would be a referendum on where people wanted the hospital.

There were a few sites proposed for Tweed Hospital

Labor has promised if it wins, the hospital would be built on billionaire developer Bob Ell’s King Forest Estate, south of the proposed site.

Yesterday, Mr Albanese yesterday continued to hitch Labors hopes of winning the seat of Tweed on the issue.

“This is an example of planning gone wrong,” Mr Albanese said.

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“Here we have prime agricultural land that is so important for our national economy and also for local jobs. And yet they want to convert this into a hospital site.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that this is aimed at opening up overdevelopment and changing the very character of Kingscliff.”

Current National Party member for Tweed Geoff Provest said it was about time Labor stopped playing politics with the much needed hospital.

“The location of the new hospital was determined by extensive public consultation and by experts at NSW Health Infrastructure,” he said.

“We’re getting on with the job of building the new Tweed hospital, that’s the expectation of the community.”

“If the Labor Party have made a promise to a developer mate that they can’t fulfil, that’s their problem, not ours.”