That's the message from David Vane, the full-time caretaker of the former Wangi Wangi power station.

Mr Vane said a man was arrested by police last week after being caught allegedly in the act of stealing copper wire from the 22.5-hectare fenced site.

"It happens at this time of the year when people need a bit of extra cash, I suppose. But this is not the way to get it," Mr Vane said.

The defunct power station was bought by Gold Coast developer Ian McDonald 13 years ago after the huge fortress-strong brick and concrete multi-storey building was declared by the former NSW government to be economically impossible to demolish.

Mr McDonald quickly discovered the site was a magnet for thieves and vandals.

"We have since spent a lot of time and effort on security measures including a very complex integrated alarm system," Mr Vane said.

"We have multi-beam lasers lacing the building and the grounds and they are linked to silent alarms and a formidable network of cameras, many of which are hidden," he said.

The positioning systems are also varied frequently.

"Intruders have very little chance of entering undetected and I am amazed that anybody is prepared to embark on the really hard work of trying to recover copper wires out of the ground because it really is very difficult, heavy and time-consuming work," Mr Vane said.

Mr McDonald spent more than a decade to get plans approved by council to turn the site and its heritage-listed building into a $150 million 12,000-square-metre 11-storey complex.

The new venture would comprise apartments, offices, shops, a motel, a restaurant, conference centre, cinema and gym.