Member for Tweed Geoff Provest says he is fighting for local homeless people after Tweed homeless advocate John Lee threatened to take his fight for a drop-in centre to the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Mr Provest says he has two submissions with the minister seeking funding and is awaiting a response.
‘It would offer a one-stop shop. The whole process is [currently] rather lengthy,’ he told ABC radio this morning.
But Mr Lee is fed up with the wait and says something needs to be done as a matter of urgency.
He also pointed the finger at police, who he said were in part responsible for using their ‘move-on’ powers to deny homeless people a base.
‘With police move-on powers, our homeless people are denied access to beaches, parks, Jack Evan’s Boat Harbour and bus shelters in the Coolangatta Tweed Heads district,’ he told local media.
‘This effectively makes it illegal for homeless people to sit or relax anywhere in Tweed Heads or Coolangatta unless they are constantly on the move.’
