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Cross Border Issues

Research by TEDC confirms that the Tweed and SE Queensland/Southern Gold Coast regions are inextricably linked in terms of their social and economic structure, with the border that separates the regions providing no physical barrier to the interconnectivity of the regions, but from a social and economic perspective, provides a range of challenges which impact on the day to day activities and growth of the broader region.

Some of these socio-economic impediments include:

  • Effects of daylight saving on businesses and the community;
  • Differences in workers’ compensation premiums;
  • Licensing and regulatory compliance issues;
  • Growth pressures, mainly for housing along the coast, but increasingly for rural living, as available land on the Gold Coast runs out;
  • Reliance on job opportunities in the Gold Coast;
  • Scope to generate more local employment by attracting suitable ‘spillover’ development; and
  • Transport connectivity issues such as the Tugun Bypass, expansion of the Gold Coast Airport and light rail connectivity.

The Seamless Borders Project highlighted the inextricable links between the Tweed and South East Queensland economies, reinforcing the need for better cooperation and collaboration between local and state government agencies.

This joint initiative of the TEDC, TSC and Gold Coast City Council focused on reducing inconsistencies in cross-border regulations and business compliance at a local government level, as part of a process of encouraging business and investment growth, essentially attempting to eliminate impediments to cross border business growth. The project was funded under the Australian Government’s Regulation Reduction Incentive Fund, AusIndustry program and managed by the Gold Coast City Council/Cross-Border Working Group, in partnership with TEDC and TSC.

Strategies developed by the project included a single web-portal acting as a “one-stop-shop” providing prospective businesses with relevant information necessary for the establishment of businesses in the cross-border region of south east Queensland and Northern NSW.

www.seamlessborders.com.au, was officially launched by the Federal Minister for Small Business and Tourism, The Hon Fran Bailey MP, on April 20th, 2007.

TEDC, TSC and Gold Coast City Council, through the Cross Border Working Party, continue to communicate with representatives from both New South Wales and Queensland Governments to address cross-border business compliance and regulatory issues as part of the process of encouraging sustainable economic growth in the cross-border region.