Mayor: Logical to move state line

GOLD Coast Mayor Tom Tate wants the NSW border moved 7km south to the Tweed River to stop a repeat of financial and emotional stress thousands of businesses have endured during the coronavirus crisis.

Changes to border passes in recent weeks have resulted in traffic jams as thousands of drivers attempt to cross into Queensland, while the hard closure has cut suburbs in half since March.

Cr Tate said he had been frustrated by ongoing issues and went as far as to call for the border to be shifted south.

“If (the State Government) want to move the NSW border to the Tweed River we could do that too,” he said.

“It makes logical sense. Seriously, the city’s northern border goes all the way to the Logan River, why not have the southern one go to the Tweed River?

“But because it makes sense, the state politicians will not do it.”

The NSW border runs through the middle of Gold Coast Airport’s terminal and into the heart of Coolangatta.

The issue has been raised previously but there has been little political will.

Division 14 councillor Gail O’Neill said she welcomed

“anything that helped” locals deal with the border build-up.

“But we’ve been a long time with the border and I think the locals have got the idea of what documentation they need,” she said.

“A Tweed Shire councillor actually made that suggestion (to move the border) right back at the start of all this.”

Cr Tate’s call has been met with approval from Coolangatta business owners, who faced chaos at the border checkpoint as just another hurdle after months of COVID-19 restrictions.

Cafe DBar owner Steve Archdeacon said “it doesn’t matter” whether the border was moved north or south, any shift would help.

“To move the border away from a congested area (like Coolangatta) is good thinking because it’s going to alleviate the pressure on people who live and work there,” he said.

“If you move it south, or north, it doesn’t matter which, it takes that pressure away.”

Coolangatta Surf Club general manager Steve Edgar said a move would be “awesome”.

“We’re only about 800 metres from the border and it’s been a terrible time,” he said.

“We’ve got a lot of members from Banora, south Tweed who don’t even bother, especially the older generation, because it’s taking too long (to get through).”