TROY BELL MP
Member for Mount Gambier
Your Independent voice
in State Parliament
Cross border support
Thursday June 08, 2023By Ebony Raymond
South Australian Cross Border Commissioner Liz McKinnon is continuing her work to ensure cross border communities have a stronger voice.
Ms McKinnon held a press conference with Primary Industries and Regional Development Minister Clare Scriven and Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell on Tuesday, where key priorities for border communities were outlined.
Priorities include increasing access to education and training, co-ordinating regulations and procedures across states wherever possible and sharing responsibilities to maximise resources across borders.
Ms McKinnon has undertaken more than 70 meetings and engaged with key leaders across the Green Triangle, Riverland, Ceduna, Frances, Bordertown, Eucla on the WA/SA border and outback authorities.
Ms McKinnon believed cross border communities wanted to be recognised as distinct, economic zones that could collaborate on key issues.
“I am actively out there working with all our border communities to understand what the key issues are,” she said.
“Meeting with all our regional leaders, from council CEOs, hospital CEOs, key business leaders, school principals, to really understand what the local issues are affecting the cross-border communities.
“There is a huge amount of support.
“The themes are consistent across the border.
“These communities recognise they really want to work together and have government recognise the challenges that are impacting growth in our communities and access to training.
“I am really looking forward to where we can take this role and making sure government ask the cross border question every time they are making a decision.”
Minister Scriven said Ms McKinnon was already raising the needs and issues of cross border communities and helping to navigate and find solutions and common ground.
“Support is being provided to our regional communities through finding practical ways to create better outcomes for regional residents and businesses,” Minister Scriven said.
“We know that businesses regularly operating cross border can often face differing policies, regulation and practices – if the commissioner can find a path to streamline these it will have significant benefits to businesses and regions,” Minister Scriven said.
Mr Bell viewed the commissioner role as not only for considering issues, but also opportunities.
“We really want this role not to just look at problems but look at economic opportunities, growth, and development, to how do we grow our regional communities,” he said.
“I think we are getting the foundations in place to see our community really start to grow over the next four or five years, and it is an exciting time.”
Ms McKinnon said a key message she was hearing from councils was a need to collaborate on cross border tourism.
“The councils are very keen to explore how we strengthen that Melbourne to Adelaide touring route and make sure this is seen as a stopover point and they do not just stop for the night, they stop for five days and really explore what the opportunities are here,” she said.
Regarding agriculture, Ms McKinnon said there were opportunities for value adding in forestry and in fire management.
“We know the risk of climate change is a huge threat to forestry, but for all agricultural commodities, so how do we better manage our local forest fire brigades to work collectively cross border,” she said.
“These brigades are currently doing their training in isolation, there is no mutual recognition, so I think there is huge opportunity to do a national pilot for forest training in this part of the world.”
Freight and transport also continue to be a major focus for Ms McKinnon, who said she had been leaning on freight companies to better understand issues.
“Through the Green Triangle Freight Action committee, we have got a really strong voice for this region pushing those issues forward and I will play an active role in that committee making sure government is building long term solutions,” she said.
Ms McKinnon believed there was a huge opportunity to look long-term with digitising the freight network and green transitions.
“We are the first place in Australia I believe with a plantation truck that is fuelled by electricity and there is a huge appetite in this region to invest more in electric vehicles, hydrogen-fuelled vehicles” she said.
“We need to get our planning for the long term right, so we have freedom of movement and efficiency across the supply chain.”
COMMUNITY COMMITMENT: South Australian Cross Border Commissioner Liz McKinnon (centre), Primary Industries and Regional Development Minister Clare Scriven and Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell discussed key cross border community priorities on Tuesday.