We won’t give up on Tweed Skate Park, Senator Nash tells Parliament

“I challenge Justine Elliot to prove that she is more than ‘just in Canberra’...” The proposed Tweed Skate Park has been debated in the Federal Parliament for the first time, with North Coast Nationals Senator vowing to continue the fight to reverse the Rudd Government’s decision to cancel a $110,000 grant for the project. Senator Nash singled out Tweed senior Daphne White who was “one of the many people in the region who did so much to try and get this project up and running.” “Tweed youngsters were incredibly involved in getting this project up and running, but they saw all that being axed and ripped out from underneath them,” Mrs Nash told the Senate on Wednesday. The skate park was intended to be a joint venture with Tweed clubs contributing $75,000; Tweed Council $175,000; the NSW Labor Government $30,000; and the Federal Government $110,000. The Howard Government approved its contribution late last year; the Rudd Government withdrew the offer in early May 2008, only to reinstate it two weeks later. At the time Richmond Labor MP Justine Elliot boasted to the Tweed Daily News that “this shows how much we can achieve when we all work together.” (30/5/08, page 6) However on 1 August the Rudd Government wrote to Tweed Council advising it had again changed its position and the funding would not be forthcoming after all. “What we have seen here is an appalling decision by the Labor government to rip this money away from that local community,” Mrs Nash told Parliament. “And it boils down to a complete lack of interest by local Labor MP and Rudd Minister Justine Elliot – this isn’t pork barreling since other levels of Government support it – a simple phone call to her colleagues could have avoided this awful mess. “I challenge Justine Elliot to prove that she is more than ‘just in Canberra’ and more than ‘just too busy’, to invest in her local people and to actually go out there and fight for those people that are in her local community, because those people need her” Senator Nash’ speech concluded. Contact: Murray Lees, Media Adviser 0447 34 00 25

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