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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
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Motions

Cross-Border Commissioner

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (11:00): I move:

That this house—

(a) urges the state government to introduce a cross-border commissioner to advocate for and develop solutions to assist business and communities who are located on the state’s borders;

(b) acknowledges the benefits New South Wales has experienced in the appointment of a cross-border commissioner; and

(c) urges the Minister for Regional Development to assist regional South Australia by the appointment of a cross-border commissioner.

There are a number of communities along the South Australian state borders that interact very closely with communities that exist just over the border. That invisible line that marks the moment when you cross over from one state to the other should not be a barrier for business to trade and operate, for patients to seek treatment, or for children to receive education and transport, yet it does.

The role of a cross-border commissioner is to advocate for communities that are located near another state border for positive outcomes for that community, to build and strengthen the ties that exist between the communities and the two states. In South Australia, we have a number of seats that border a different state, and I hope that each and every one of those will be making a contribution to this. They are the seats of Flinders, Giles, Sturt, Chaffey, Hammond, MacKillop and, of course, Mount Gambier.

Different regulations and legislation exist between the states and territories of Australia, reflecting each state's unique lifestyles and communities that exist within that state. However, this then becomes challenging when people who are running businesses across a number of states are dealing with multiple licences required to operate in each state and ensuring compliance with the differing regulation and legislation that exist between each state.

Local businessman David Tye, from Tye's Plumbing in Mount Gambier, faces that exact challenge. For his business to complete work in Victoria, which is just 30 kilometres away, David is required to have dual licences, which of course means two lots of licence renewal fees and charges as well as differing installation and compliance regulations between the two states. Obviously, David needs to ensure that his employees are aware of those differences because they have insurance consequences if they are not installed to that state's specifications.

Business operators, no matter where they are, would like less red tape, yet on border communities, such as Mount Gambier, this seems to be the reverse when dealing with populations just over an imaginary line. When difficulties arise for a business owner, it is often difficult to know who to turn to. The establishment of an office will finally provide some place for the public to turn to for help. It will be an opportunity for the commissioner to present the views of the public to government agencies, in Victoria, South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia, to effect change for the benefit of South Australians, in particular those living near a border region.

The commissioner will be a voice for those communities to raise awareness and to effect change. It is quite a common topic of discussion, when you start talking to business owners, that simple changes to regulations that we could make in South Australia, in partnership with Victoria, would see something closer to a seamless approach to both states conducting business with each other.

We are not alone. This is not a new concept. In fact, New South Wales appointed a cross-border commissioner in March 2012. Steve Toms was the initial cross-border commissioner and held that position for over two years. The current commissioner is James McTavish, and, on my invitation and that of our Local Government Association, he attended Mount Gambier last month to outline the benefits of the establishment of a cross-border commissioner with businesses and government leaders and representatives. I thank the current minister for having a person in that meeting who was reporting back to him.

During his visit, James McTavish indicated that in his experience jurisdictions have not considered a regional approach in their strategies. Having a person who is responsible for identifying issues that are common or unique to border communities means that constituents can have their issues raised and dealt with in an accountable manner, obviously facilitating greater trade and economic benefit for the people in each state. A number of issues James McTavish indicated that benefited from stronger cross-border collaboration included child protection, regulations around the environment, access to vocational education and training, aligning biosecurity regulations and transport, just to name a few.

The New South Wales Cross Border Commission has developed a number of strategies. Some of these strategies include advocating for the inclusion of cross-border issues in government agency strategic and business plans, enhancing awareness of cross-border issues with government agencies through regular and targeted communication, representation of the state at cross-border forums, providing advice on complex and sensitive issues and providing a conduit for addressing cross-border issues that arise. He indicated that these issues normally arise at a council level but do not seem to make it to the state government's agenda.

Strategies also include developing and implementing systems to better identify, analyse and resolve cross-border issues. He has given lots of transport examples between Queensland and New South Wales, particularly around schoolchildren and their ability to move between the two states to access a school. This is quite relevant to Mount Gambier. Students from Dartmoor, just over the Victorian border, nearly always access schools in Mount Gambier, yet the bus cannot go the five kilometres to pick them up. These types of issues are identified and addressed through a cross-border commissioner.

Other issues addressed include utilising joint organisations and regional organisations of councils to identify, analyse, consider and resolve appropriate local and regional issues that assist local government collaboration—basically, getting the local councils and government associations to work closer together. Also included are enhancing government regional leadership, senior management and local government networks to consider and resolve appropriate cross-border issues, and developing and co-ordinating mechanisms for information flow between jurisdictions to business and communities.

Also identified was providing recommendations to government about prioritised cross-border issues, advocating for innovation in service delivery to more effectively and efficiently support cross-border areas, monitoring and providing input where appropriate into commonwealth and state government reviews and inquiries, developing and implementing a program of regular face-to-face and electronic consultation with local, regional and state business representatives, and identifying key barriers and enablers for economic development in cross-border areas.

Tourism is one of the main areas where I see South Australia benefiting, and, in our case, Victoria also benefiting. We are always thinking about trying to get visitors to the Great Ocean Road to continue on to Mount Gambier. However, it can be a two-way street, with us promoting visitors or tourists from Adelaide to continue into Victoria along the Great Ocean Road for a reciprocal tourism co-operation. Other strategies include advocating for the attraction, development and retention of a skilled workforce in cross-border communities; advocating for a simplified regulatory environment for businesses; and advocating for a reduction in regulatory duplication in cross-border areas.

It is pleasing that both the Liberal and Labor parties of Victoria have not only indicated strong support for a cross-border commissioner but have actually pledged money to it. The Victorian Coalition has pledged $4 million over four years for a cross-border commissioner, to be located at Mildura. The Andrews Labor government indicated in their 2018 budget paper, as part of their commitment to regional Victoria, $760,000 to establish a cross-border commissioner for 18 months to streamline regulatory and licensing requirements and to reduce barriers to service for Victoria's border communities.

My office regularly has constituents requesting assistance to deal with anomalies that exist between Victoria and South Australia. Only last week, I had a farmer visit my office regarding the regulations surrounding the storage of a firearm. This farmer's principal place of residence is in Mount Gambier, yet his farm is located in Victoria, just 28 kilometres away. For the last 30 years, he has stored his firearm in a locked safe in a farm shed at his property in Victoria. The property has a residential home on it, in which his brother lives, and the shed is located behind his brother's house.

This week, he has been notified that it is a legislative requirement to store the firearm at his principal place of residence at Mount Gambier. This would now mean that the farmer is required to remove his guns daily from storage at Mount Gambier and drive with them, once they have been appropriately stored in his motor vehicle, to his farm in Victoria on the off chance that he may be required to use a gun at his farming property.

Another example is recent correspondence I received from Mayor Anita Rank of the Glenelg shire. The Glenelg shire is located just over the border, in the south-west corner of Victoria, and includes the towns of Portland, Nelson, Casterton, Dartmoor and Heywood, just to name a few. In the shire's letter, the mayor indicated their strong support for the Victorian state government's implementation of prescription-monitoring legislation through parliament. The legislation will enable real-time monitoring of prescription medication and track patients' prescription history. The mayor goes on to say, 'Council seeks your support in advocating for the introduction of a real-time monitoring system,' to prevent patients, particularly those living in border communities, engaging in cross-border prescription shopping and to help save lives.

The Limestone Coast Local Government Association have recognised the value of the appointment of a cross-border commissioner, and at their meeting last Friday, they moved a recommendation to:

Support the member for Mount Gambier Mr Troy Bell MP in his calls for the South Australian Government to introduce a Cross Border Commissioner to advocate for and develop solutions to assist businesses and communities who are located on the State's borders.

This recommendation was supported. I call on the state Liberal government to appoint a cross-border commissioner who can liaise with people within the communities that live near the border and the growing number of other states that are appointing a cross-border commissioner—to be able to liaise with those cross-border commissioners—about the issues that affect the everyday lives of people living near a border and bring to the attention of the government those issues affecting them. This is a chance to remove barriers that currently exist.

I urge the Minister for Regional Development to advocate, lobby for and appoint a cross-border commissioner who can identify and resolve issues that communities experience living in close proximity to a neighbouring state border. I encourage him, as the Minister for Regional Development, to assist those communities in regional South Australia by providing them with a tool in cross-border areas to promote strategic growth and economic development. I commend this motion to the house.

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE (Chaffey—Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development) (11:14): I rise today to speak on the member for Mount Gambier's motion regarding a cross-border commissioner for South Australia. The member for Mount Gambier has brought a number of ideas and motions into this house, and I commend him for that. The cross-border commissioner is a concept that appears to have had some positive benefits in New South Wales and Victoria. Victoria recently agreed to fund a cross-border commissioner, and I believe they will starting that within the next month.

In New South Wales, the Cross-Border Commissioner was first appointed in 2012. The role of the office of the Cross-Border Commissioner in New South Wales is to assist businesses, organisations and individuals who live, work and operate in cross-border areas of New South Wales by helping to connect them to the most appropriate agency to ensure that their issues are addressed. The 2018-19 Victorian state budget included the establishment of a cross-border commissioner, with a budget allocation of $760,000 over two years. The decision to appoint a cross-border commissioner was informed by a business case announced almost a year ago.

Both New South Wales and Victoria are vastly different in size from South Australia, although we share a number of mutual issues. As the member for Mount Gambier pointed out, the New South Wales Cross-Border Commissioner was recently in his electorate for a meeting. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend but, as the member for Mount Gambier said, a representative from PIRSA did attend, as did the member for MacKillop. It was great to see that he was there trying to gain a better understanding of what the office of a cross-border commissioner would entail. Mostly, it was a listening post when the New South Wales commissioner came to Mount Gambier through an invitation from the member for Mount Gambier, as I understand it.

There is no doubt that there are ongoing opportunities for governments across Australia to continue working together, aligning activities and addressing cross-border issues. South Australia currently has a number of collaborative relationships with states across the nation. The South Australian government has undertaken collaborative work with the Northern Territory, including as a partner with the NT and Western Australian governments, in a Cross-Border Justice Scheme that enables enforcement agencies to deal with offences that may have occurred in another state or territory, meaning offenders cannot escape justice by going interstate.

In addition, South Australia and Victoria have a number of regulatory and administrative arrangements in place to manage cross-border issues, including an agreement on groundwater; the Green Triangle freight plan; the bushfire response, which is critically important to the South-East region, particularly with the Green Triangle; and the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. The cooperation between governments and the Murray-Darling Basin Authority is critical, and that is ongoing. Sadly, politics is playing a part there, and that is one example where cross-borders have a conflict. We have an agency that is stepping in to be the mediator in the Murray-Darling Basin Authority.

The advice I have received is that sufficient cross-border issues are in the main dealt with through existing intergovernmental forums. There are concerns that a cross-border commissioner in South Australia may duplicate and cut across existing longstanding arrangements at the ministerial, chief executive and senior official levels. I commend the member for Mount Gambier for bringing ideas such as this into the house, and I can assure him that I have looked closely into the suggestions he has put forward. Based on the advice I have received, the South Australian government is successfully working with other states to deal with cross-border issues that arise.

It is important to point out that cross-border areas in South Australia are all regional electorates. Under the new Marshall Liberal government, we recognise the importance of regional areas, including those with borders with New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and Northern Territory. In fact, my electorate of Chaffey is one where we are not far from Victoria, and I believe that our government will work constructively to address any cross-border issues that arise.

Many cross-border issues are discussed at a ministerial level through regular forums, such as the recent AGMIN and the Forestry Ministers Meetings, which I recently attended. They are good forums. They are forums where we share common interests and common issues. Those issues are put on a national agenda and we deal with them. There are many localised issues that I feel could be better dealt with through the local government agencies, through the Regional Development Australia agencies in those states' jurisdictions.

Again, I believe there is room for improvement in working with other states on issues of importance to South Australia. We may be able to look at ways to encourage greater cross-border engagement through local governments, as I have said, and the RDA boards meeting more regularly. This is something that I am happy to further explore, particularly having responsibility for regional development.

These cross-border issues are, in short, about how states can work more collaboratively and whether they can have a cluster approach. It is important to understand that we have a collaborative model and those imaginary lines, as the member for Mount Gambier so eloquently put it. They are imaginary lines in many instances, but in a lot of ways there are different laws and rules within states' jurisdictions.

What I can say is that the Marshall-led Liberal government in South Australia has put a greater focus on regional South Australia and allowed relevant ministers and their agencies to have what we call an open-door approach. It is not about disregarding the regional electorates or the regional people in South Australia. We have a new government in town, and that new government will put a focus on and work more collaboratively with our bordering states. It will work more collaboratively with governments of regional centres and make sure that those issues are dealt with.

We are not going to sweep it under the carpet. We are not going to ignore those issues. We are going to meet with stakeholders and we are going to meet with industry people, which sadly was lacking in a previous government. In conclusion, I believe that South Australia is working hard on addressing those cross-border issues that arise, and at this stage a cross-border commissioner is not required.

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (11:21): I rise to support the motion and commend the member for bringing it before the house, but I do so with some qualifications. The member for Chaffey raised some of the issues that came to my mind when I first saw this motion. It is my understanding that initially in the South-East a number of the mayors were not particularly supportive of going in this particular direction, but they did undergo a change of mind as a result of information presented and as a result of gaining a greater understanding about what was happening between New South Wales and Queensland.

I understand that on that basis they are now supportive. They do see that there are some opportunities. The thing that came to my mind when I saw the motion was that we already have organisations that are set up, some of which are funded at a local government, state and federal level, and we have the economic development boards down in the South-East and in Victoria. So the question that I would pose is: if they were operating effectively, especially in the economic sphere, would there be a need for a commissioner to undertake the level of work that is being proposed?

There is obviously scope for local government to work far more effectively together across borders. There are things in place, the performance of which could be enhanced. I do not reflect upon the performance of the Economic Development Board down in the South-East. I have not met them there at this stage. I do know there are one or two economic development boards in this state that I am quite sceptical about when it comes to how they perform and the nature of their standard of governance. Maybe on another occasion I might go into some detail about some of those—one board in particular—at some point in the future.

The electorate of Giles has two borders: the Western Australian border and the Northern Territory border. I think the point that was made in relation to New South Wales and Queensland is that it is a very different kettle of fish, given the intensity of the economic activity there, the demographics and the sheer size of the population moving backwards and forwards over those borders. Much of the Western Australian-South Australian border is incredibly sparsely populated. I do not see much scope for serious and constructive engagement.

The exception is in the far north-west of our state. The member for Chaffey has mentioned the collaboration when it comes to justice and legally related issues. Of course, to the people who live in the north-west of the state, the APY lands and the lands in the Northern Territory and Western Australia, borders do not mean anything. They mean absolutely nothing. As a result of that, from the ground up and from the state down and territory down, practices have been put in place to improve collaboration, both legally and in relation to some of the social and health issues that pertain to that part of the world. If you like, organically, without a commissioner, those practices have grown.

However, there might well be opportunities in the South-East for far more effective collaboration, and a commissioner might make a positive contribution. If we were to go in that direction, I am always mindful—and this might come as a surprise to some opposite—that we do not want to have layer upon layer of bureaucracy. If we were to go in the direction of having a cross-border commissioner, I think what the measure of success is going to be would have to be pretty tightly defined and you would have to have a look at it after having given it an opportunity to run for a few years to see what the real runs on the board are.

Sometimes there is this tendency, once something has been set up, for inertia to take over and you just end up with activity for activity's sake that is not going to generate any significant benefit. I think we should always be open to looking at different ways of doing things and we should always be willing to trial different approaches. The Queensland and New South Wales governments agreed to focus on a number of key areas when it came to collaboration and one of the big ones was regional economic development. There is intense economic activity in that part of the world and there is also the issue of aligning services, sharing information and addressing some of the local transport issues. They also talked about issues of national significance as well.

They set out a number of priority areas and the feedback seems to be that it is working in that part of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. It might be working effectively because of the particular set of circumstances in that area. If we were to look at this in South Australia, I believe that the South-East might be a logical place to start almost on a trial basis, to give it a few years and establish very clear measures of success, and then do a rigorous review to see if it has delivered any beneficial results. I commend the member for his diligent advocacy on behalf of his electorate, coming to the house with a range of ideas to enhance in one way or another the wellbeing of the community that he represents.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (11:29): I rise to make a few comments on the cross-border commissioner motion brought to us by the member for Mount Gambier. I note that New South Wales currently has a Cross-Border Commissioner and Victoria is in the process of appointing one. I note that in New South Wales the commissioner was first appointed in 2012 and, according to New South Wales, is to:

…assist businesses, organisations and individuals who live, work and operate in cross-border areas of New South Wales by helping to connect them to the most appropriate agency to ensure their issue is addressed.

In regard to Victoria, their 2018-19 state budget had a budget allocation of $760,000 over two years for a cross-border commissioner, and the decision to appoint a Victorian cross-border commissioner was well informed by a business case announced almost a year ago.

I would like to talk about a few things that happen where I am. In the recent redistribution the Mallee came home; Pinnaroo and Lameroo came back to Hammond after being ably looked after by the member for Chaffey for four years. So, apart from the border districts that the member for Chaffey already has in the Riverland area, he looked after down around Pinnaroo for four years.

There are issues that arise. There are justice issues, and we have heard about those where there is collaboration across some borders on justice issues. That is very helpful, because otherwise we get situations where police may be pursuing an alleged criminal and they get to a state border and, hang on, they have to pull out because they do not have that cross-jurisdictional power. Obviously South Australia, being where it is in the centre of the country and the south of the country, has borders all around as well as the sea on one side, so cross-border jurisdictional issues regarding justice are principally being addressed.

With regard to education, I am well aware of what happens in the Mallee between the Lameroo Regional Community School and the Murrayville Primary School or the Pinnaroo Primary School. A range of issues come into play, and it is a known fact that whether it is in the meat industry or in the horticulture industry—and horticulture plays a very big part in the Mallee, with places like Parilla Premium Potatoes and others, the Dabinetts, a whole range of growers out there who produce 80 per cent of Australia's potatoes, apart from a range of other vegetables such as onions and carrots, to keep this great economy—

The Hon. S.K. Knoll: Parsnips?

Mr PEDERICK: They might grow parsnips, I am not sure. I would have to check on that, minister.

Members interjecting:

Mr PEDERICK: Yes, they do a great job. There is a lot of dryland cropping done in the Mallee as well, and some of the best merinos in the state are bred out there.

An honourable member: Are you sure about that?

Mr PEDERICK: I knew that would raise a debate. The merino is back, as we know, with the resurgence of wool prices—

An honourable member: Under a Liberal government.

Mr PEDERICK: Yes, under a Liberal government wool prices have surged. They have hit $20 a kilo cleaned for prime wool. It is a great result for farmers who were resilient in cross-border areas and kept hold of their stock. As I said, it is a large cropping area as well, and I am a firm believer that mixed farmers should spread their risk, and they are finally getting the rewards after many years of prime lambs being the lead income earner on the sheep side of things. It is good to see that cattle are back in the mix as well, but they have dropped in price a little bit recently.

There are those issues and also issues with migrants who come into the regions because we cannot find enough workers. Thomas Foods will hopefully be operating again within the next couple of years after its rebuild, and they are heavily reliant on 457 visa holders. The new visa coming through is 482. As far as horticulture in the Mallee is concerned, there are a lot of migrant families, a lot of South African families and others who come to assist that industry. Some of them are a bit baffled by the different rules, but it is all about state boundaries. It is not as if we are going to align every piece of state legislation with Victoria just because the border is where it is.

There are certainly some issues, and I am looking at them. I am looking at education issues and different fee regimes in different states as those can affect where people live and where they educate their children. It certainly was an issue that Thomas Foods took into account when they were transferring workers through to Tamworth because of the fire on 3 January this year. I know that all the people involved in education in the area, whether it is at Murrayville, Pinnaroo or Lameroo, have plenty of communication working through issues as needed.

Health is brought up occasionally because of health issues and ambulance calls and that kind of thing. I wrote to federal minister Greg Hunt about this and he talked about the National Health Reform Agreement entered into by all states and territories and the Australian government agreeing to provide eligible persons with the choice to receive public hospital services as public patients free of charge on the levels of clinical need and within the clinically appropriate period. States have also committed to have arrangements in place to ensure equitable access to such services for all eligible persons regardless of their geographic boundaries.

In a letter I received from the Minister for Health in Victoria, the Hon. Jill Hennessy MP, it mentioned ambulance calls. For calls generated in Victoria and processed in Victoria by the Emergency Services Telecommunication Authority (ESTA) and Ambulance Victoria, any cases within 25 kilometres of the South Australian border will generate an automatic dispatch of the closest Ambulance Victoria resource and an alert will be put out for an interstate resource—obviously South Australia. If there is a need and it is geographically closer, ESTA will contact the neighbouring state to see if there is a closer resource available. Those practices regarding health are in place as well.

The minister spoke about groundwater, and in the Mallee Wells area cross-border agreements are in place. The Murray-Darling Basin Plan has separate state legislation, but it is all coming together under federal legislation and it is working through that as well. In the main, we are pretty impressed with a lot of the cross-border liaison that goes on already. As a member in a bordering electorate, I understand the complexities and will work with all the authorities to get the job right.

Mr BROCK (Frome) (11:39): I also rise to speak on the motion put forward by the member for Mount Gambier. As you are aware, my electorate is nowhere near any borders. However, quite a few of my constituents—business constituents in particular—are looking to expand and sell to other states, so they have been carrying quite a few of the concerns that the member for Mount Gambier has highlighted.

We live in a big world, and at the moment our local businesses have to look outside the square in order to survive. Many of them conduct business interstate. In my electorate, engineering firms, planning firms and other operators trade with other states and also overseas, and they have to comply with state regulations. I understand from the member for Mount Gambier that New South Wales has had a similar operation since 2012 and that Victoria will consult with it as part of a business case. Unfortunately, each state has varying restrictions and regulations and this becomes very frustrating for businesses when they need to quote and tender for interstate business opportunities.

My office has heard from constituents requiring assistance to deal with the anomalies that exist between not only New South Wales and Victoria but also the Northern Territory. To help them understand where to go and how to get that information can sometimes be very confusing. As the member for Giles has indicated, even some members of the regional development association are not aware of where to go for this sort of stuff.

It is very interesting that the minister has indicated that a commissioner is not warranted at this particular point in time; nevertheless, I would encourage him to look very closely at this issue. We need to learn from what we have previously done and what has been done in other states, to understand how we can all work collaboratively to be able to get the best opportunities for our businesses. I think that would be the view of both sides of the chamber here in Parliament House.

Businesspeople need to know the variations in the regulations and the jurisdictional requirements relating to interstate policies. This is an issue that we need to look at collaboratively and work on very honestly and openly with everybody, including our interstate components. Perhaps all states need to look at the same regulations. We are a nation, but we are made up of various states and the Northern Territory.

Unfortunately, we have variations because of the different regulations and jurisdictions. Quite frankly, I find that very frustrating from the point of view of business. As I indicated earlier, businesses do not just trade within their own jurisdiction or with other states within Australia. They also export, and they must comply with the regulations of other countries. Another frustrating aspect is that we import a lot of farming equipment. When that equipment comes into South Australia, there are different regulations regarding width and so forth of that farming equipment, and permits must be obtained.

That is an issue I will be taking up, and I am gathering more information on that. If we are allowing that type of farming equipment to come in, we really need to make certain that they comply with our regulations, or else change our regulations. If our regulations vary from the import regulations, yet we are still giving permits for people to travel with that equipment from Port Adelaide to the regional areas, then we need to change our regulations, and that is something I will be looking at further down the track.

I congratulate the minister on saying that he is not looking at appointing a commissioner at this particular point. I have great faith in the minister, and I believe that he will be able to look at the whole thing very openly and honestly. I urge this parliament to support this motion from the member for Mount Gambier, and I commend the motion to the house.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL (Schubert—Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government, Minister for Planning) (11:44): I rise to make a brief contribution in relation to this motion. I certainly have sympathy for the member for Mount Gambier on this matter, and I had a brief chance to have a conversation with him about it recently. It speaks to something fundamental with regard to the issues about how this state is regulated and about what we can do to fix it.

The idea of a cross-border commissioner fixing the problem that a cross-border commissioner seeks to fix is very worthy of attention. It may just be that a cross-border commissioner is not necessarily the best way to go about it. The reason I say that is that we have something very similar to a cross-border commissioner in the Kangaroo Island commissioner, a position the former government put in place that we at the election put on the table to get rid of, and I am in the process of dealing with implementing that policy commitment imminently.

The fundamental principle in relation to how we make our Public Service and the regulations that our Public Service follow more efficient and more effective is by dealing with the fundamental root cause of the problems themselves. I found with the KI commissioner that certainly she has been able to identify—and she has done a fantastic job, and in discussions I have had with her she is a fierce advocate for getting things done—and made remarks about the difficulty she finds in navigating the bureaucracy to try to get things done.

The KI commissioner, in and of herself, does not have the power to do anything except hassle, harangue and encourage other government departments to do their job properly. The answer to fixing bureaucracy cannot be more bureaucracy. The answer to fixing bureaucracy is to change the culture and the way that the Public Service goes about doing things and the regulations that underpin them.

Where there is a need to change culture, where there is a need to change resource and where there is a need to change regulation, those are things we need to look at, but the answer to those things cannot be more regulation in and of itself. If there are people on this side of the border in their individual agencies or departments who need to be talking better with the people across the other side of the border, then let's fix that fundamental root cause, as opposed to adding another layer over the top of those things. It is the same with the Kangaroo Island commissioner.

Whether it be my department, the environment department or any state government agency with which the KI commissioner sought to interact, the KI commissioner would have had very little to do if the base agencies themselves did their work to their best extent and best endeavours. By extension, MPs would have very little to do if the bureaucracy did not break down. I certainly know that the vast majority of the letters I have signed to members of this house in relation to issues they have brought to my desk really relate to where there has been a breakdown and a failure of process. Again, we need to fix the fundamental root cause of the issues and do what we can to help the people whose job it is to do the jobs they need to do to do those jobs better.

In opposing this motion, I think we realise that there are improvements that need to be made, and that we should go about fixing those root causes so that we can have a more efficient and effective public sector that has regulation that is fit for purpose, permissive and deals with some of the cross-border issues that no doubt the member for Mount Gambier experiences on a daily basis, and does so in a way that does not perversely increase bureaucracy whilst seeking to manage it.

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (11:48): I appreciate the contributions from all members on this of motion. I will touch on a couple of points. The member for Schubert talked about more regulation. Again, that is not the intent of this motion. In fact, the role of a cross-border commissioner is to identify and remove or suggest ways to remove regulation and red tape. I think he was slightly off task there, but I understood his point.

The role of the cross-border commissioner is really about collaboration between the states, and of course the Northern Territory, for mutual benefit. We have seen lots of examples where that would be advantageous. I am reminded that the then leader of the opposition, Steven Marshall, said when he was in opposition that to grow South Australia, to grow the revenue pie of South Australia, we need to look outside South Australia for revenue. He said that we are not going to grow the pie and become prosperous by selling coffees to ourselves. The whole point of the cross-border commissioner is: how can we facilitate better trade and better collaboration around tourism between states that is mutually beneficial?

Of course, I would like to see the cross-border commissioner located in Mount Gambier. The member for Giles made a very valuable contribution indicating a trial period or a trial position. I also take on board that perhaps there are other structures through the RDA that could have a focus on this. Victoria has 6.2 million people and South Australia has about 1.4 million people, so there is a large economic potential sitting over the South Australian border in Victoria and into New South Wales.

I acknowledge that trade continues at the moment, but what I am looking at is how we streamline that and make it as easy as possible to grow the South Australian revenue pie so that all South Australians benefit, so that we are not just selling coffees to each other but are selling coffees to Victoria, New South Wales, Northern Territory and Western Australia. With those final comments, I commend the motion to the house and I thank all those who made a contribution to it.

Motion negatived.

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