It was all kicking off in Tweed Heads this week - just not in a good way

 

It doesn't happen very often in the NSW Northern Rivers region. To have a local area make the latest batch of police news releases - much less three times over the course of two days.

NSW Police News:

Three arrested as part of drug supply investigation - Tweed Heads

Wednesday, 31 July 2024 04:28:34 PM

Three people are assisting police with inquiries after being arrested following an investigation into drug supply in the state’s north.

About 1.10pm (Wednesday 31 July 2024), police from the Northern Rivers Region Enforcement Squad, assisted by the Tactical Operations Unit, stopped a vehicle at a service station in Chinderah.

The three occupants of the vehicle – a 37-year-old woman, and two men aged 28 and 51 – were arrested at the scene.

They have been taken to Tweed Heads Police Station where they are assisting police with their inquiries.

Further information will be released once available.

Police officer charged - Northern Region

Wednesday, 31 July 2024 02:20:09 PM

A NSW Police officer has been charged for allegedly accessing restricted data.

In January 2024, officers attached to the Professional Standards Command commenced an investigation into alleged misconduct and unlawful access to data held on the Police computer system.

Following inquiries, a 50-year-old man was served a court attendance notice and charged with eight counts access/modify restricted data held in computer and holder of public office misconduct him or herself.

He will appear before Tweed Heads Local Court on Monday 16 September 2024.

The officer’s employment status is suspended without pay.

Man charged following alleged assault - Tweed Heads

Tuesday, 30 July 2024 07:16:03 PM

A man will face Court after being charged following an investigation into an assault at Tweed Heads earlier this month.

About 3.30pm on Thursday 11 July 2024, emergency services were called to a shopping centre on Minjungbal Drive, Tweed Heads South, following reports of an altercation.

Officers attached to the Tweed/Byron Police District attended the scene and were told several people were involved in an altercation, in which a man – aged 25 – was injured.

The man was treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics for facial injuries, before he was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital for treatment. He has since been released from hospital.

A tomahawk was recovered at the scene and was seized by police for forensic examination.

About 3.00pm today (Tuesday 30 July 2024), following an investigation by officers from Tweed/Byron Police District, police arrested a 23-year-old man at Tweed Head Police Station.

The man was charged with reckless wounding in company. He was refused bail to appear at Tweed Heads Local Court on Wednesday 31 July 2024.

Inquiries into the incident are ongoing.

As investigations continue, anyone who witnessed the incident or has footage of the incident, including dashcam footage, is urged to contact local police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000

Rental housing is becoming beyond the reach of locals in 2021

ABC News, 1 March 2021:

After years of supporting others to find secure accommodation, Cherie Bromley never imagined she would find herself on the receiving end of the housing crisis on the far north coast of New South Wales.

Key points:

Valuable members of regional communities are being forced out of the area due to a shortage of affordable rental properties

A woman who applied for rental properties says she was told the successful applicants offered to pay $100 more than the advertised price

The head of a homeless support group says many of her own staff are struggling to find accommodation for themselves

"I didn't even approach the real estates because I just knew there was nothing out there," she said.

For the past decade, Ms Bromley has been working for the Byron Community Centre, which provides a number of services, including support for the town's homeless population.

The Byron Bay resident of 29 years said she began the search for a home when the lease on her share house ended late last year, thrusting her into a rental market with a vacancy rate close to zero.

"This is the worst it's ever been," she said.

"There is no housing stock that is affordable."

Ms Bromley said she was extremely fortunate to have a good network of friends who were able to find her and her 14-year-old daughter temporary accommodation.

"I'm sleeping in the kitchen area [and] I gave my daughter the bedroom, but I have to pass through her bedroom to go to the bathroom," she said.

"It's not sustainable long-term."

Cherie Bromley is sharing a one-bedroom unit with her teenage daughter.
(ABC North Coast: Leah White)

'Catastrophic proportions'

The term "traumatic experience" is not one Ballina solicitor Sadie Hunt thought she would ever use to describe trying to secure a rental property in regional NSW.

After all, she works in conveyancing, has a regular and respectable income, and has contacts in the local real estate industry — how hard could it be?

"I thought I had a pretty good chance of getting a rental property, but I was rejected from all the properties I applied for," Ms Hunt said.

"I was basically told that if you weren't a DINK (double income, no kids) … you just had zero chance of getting a rental property."

Ms Hunt said she sold her Lennox Head property in November 2020 and gave herself a five-week settlement period to find a new place.

But she said even the first hurdle into the rental market — property viewings — proved challenging.

"You get sent an email and if you don't respond to that email within two minutes those little 4-minute appointment slots are all filled," Ms Hunt said.

"You turn up and there's 30 to 50 people there … that you're essentially competing with to get a home for you and your family to live in."

Ms Hunt said she was able to find a private rental at the eleventh hour but was knocked back for the three rentals she applied for through real estate agents.

She said that the real estate agents later informed her that, in at least two of the homes she missed out on, other prospective tenants had offered higher rental payments to secure the properties…...

Right now a three bedroom house rental in Yamba is likely to cost between 35% and 50% of the 2020-21 middle tier median annual income of $67,000 in regional New South Wales. In Ballina a three bedroom rental is likely to take between 35% to 61% out of that same income if suitable housing stock is available. While renting a three bedroom home in Tweed Heads would reduce that median annual income by between 43% to 56% and, in Lismore such a rental would likely subtract between 34% to 43% from that $67,000 if there was suitable housing stock available.

A single parent raising a child on an annual Centrelink payment of $21,920 from March 2021 who is attempting to secure private rental of even a one-bedroom unit between Clarence Valley and the NSW-Qld border faces a daunting task.