NSW:NSW, Qld sign cross border agreement

AAP General News (Australia)
08-30-2011
NSW:NSW, Qld sign cross border agreement

SYDNEY, Aug 30 AAP - NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell and his Queensland counterpart Anna
Bligh have committed to expanding cooperation on health, policing, primary industries
and disaster management along the length of the border.

The two leaders signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Sydney on Tuesday, which
would extend the current sharing of services in the Gold-Coast and Tweed regions to the
whole of the Queensland-NSW border.

Mr O'Farrell said the MoU recognised there "are towns, there are issues, that straddle
both sides of the border".

"Whether it's northeast NSW or it's southeast Queensland, they're parts of the nation
where there are real issues around policing, around health, but as you go further west,
there are issues that are just as important around primary industry and natural resources
and emergency services," Mr O'Farrell told reporters.

"This agreement is a whole of state border agreement between Queensland and NSW. It
respects the fact that people simply want to get access to services."

Ms Bligh said the details of the agreement had yet to be worked out.

"What we're signing today is really a statement of political intent", she said.

"We want anyone who is sick to get the closest available ambulance, we want police
to be able to go across borders and conduct police chases, for example.

"Those arrangements have been very confined to Tweed Heads and Coolangatta - we want
to now put them along the length of the border.

"It is very much about ensuring that people can get the best services as Australians,
regardless of which side of the state border they've got to live on."

Ms Bligh said the cross border agreement would ensure her government was implementing
recommendations from the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry for better emergency
services co-ordination between the states.

"For example, we will look at the use of governments' Air Wings for personnel, transport
and freight into and out of flooded areas," Ms Bligh said.

"The Commission of Inquiry also recommended that Queensland work with NSW to co-ordinate
road condition reporting procedures to inform local councils and road users of interstate
road conditions in a variety of different ways."

AAP ab/tr/mm

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