Anew partnership between the South Australian and Victorian governments will help support border residents and make it even easier to develop common approaches between the neighbouring states.
The governments last week announced a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Victorian and South Australian Cross Border Commissioners to support border communities.
The announcement of the MoU comes as Victoria’s Cross Border Commissioner Brett Davis met in Renmark with his South Australian counterpart Kelly-Anne Saffin from Mount Gambier and New South Wales Cross Border Commissioner Kalina Koloff.
The commissioners joined representatives from health organisations including the Riverland Mallee Coorong Local Health Network, Victorian Department of Health, and border hospitals for the VIC/NSW/SA Health Border Forum.
The forum involved collaboration with health sector leaders and builds upon shared knowledge and experiences of working in a border community environment.
Opportunities discussed included ways to strengthen health services in border towns ranging from ambulance services, telehealth, workforce development and aged care.
The MoU outlines key priorities for Victoria and South Australia’s border communities, including support for health service planning, border policing, skills and training and emergency management. From improving accessibility to essential services to enabling more job opportunities, the agreement will continue to back the demands of border communities.
Issues discussed included how Mount Gambier was benefitting from Victoria’s free nursing scholarship program, as well as the extension of the state’s regional fares cap for public transport being extended to border locations.
Ms Saffin said the discussions had been beneficial.
“Together with my Victorian counterpart, our focus on expanding the significant economic contribution the residents who live in our cross-borders communities make is a core part of the Memorandum of Understanding announced,” she said.