LABOR’S candidate for Benambra yesterday added her voice to a call for a Victorian cross-border commissioner.
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Jennifer Podesta said if elected she would advocate for the role to address anomalies affecting communities including Albury-Wodonga.
It follows a similar call last year from member for Indi Cathy McGowan, who wants both the Victorian and Commonwealth governments to follow the lead of NSW.
The NSW cross-border commissioner visited Albury in early September.
James McTavish said at the time while Albury was a focus, he was not exclusively the city’s cross-border commissioner.
His visit preceded discussions with the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet and Regional Development Victoria.
Mr McTavish said regardless of what was done in NSW, “if we haven’t got a partnership with Victoria we aren’t going to achieve much”.
Ms Podesta acknowledged previous Victorian governments had addressed specific cross-border issues over the years, but “an ad-hoc approach clearly isn’t enough”.
“A commissioner will enable the government to strategically address the various layers of overlapping cross-border red-tape that impact individual industries, and the consistency of the office will ensure difficult issues aren’t forgotten,” she said.
Ms Podesta said she had received feedback on cross-border issues including people missing out on work, or extra costs in doing business.