Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At this time of year when we're looking forward to celebrating Christmas, sadly the community of Bethania in my electorate of Forde is less than pleased as they've seen the tasteless plans to build a crematorium on the doorstep of an aged-care facility this week given the green light by the Logan City Council. My thoughts are with the local community, which is home to young families, retirees, homeowners and businessowners who will be directly impacted by this decision. I also am concerned for the Palm Lake Care aged-care facility, located adjacent to the site, and the Bethania Lutheran primary school across the road, who are unequivocally opposed to this development.

I'm proud of the efforts of my local community—their tireless efforts and the way they've come together to write letters, sign petitions, host community meetings and fight for the place they all call home. Despite the community opposition and the calls for a more appropriate location to be found, the council voted to allow this crematorium to go ahead on the high street in Bethania. I thank the Bethania Residents Action Group for their hard work and, in particular, I want to thank the coordinator Diana Howes. I will continue to work together with the community to see if we can have this decision reversed. I call on the proponents of the project to withdraw their application and look for a more suitable location away from the local aged-care facilities in our community.