THE recently appointed Cross Border Commissioner Liz McKinnon has officially stepped down as of today.
In an announcement made earlier this evening, a state government spokesperson said Ms McKinnon had been a “strong advocate” for the border communities in South Australia, building a “key foundation” as the State’s first commissioner.
“Having established this role as an important part of South Australia’s landscape, Liz has made the decision to step back into the private sector, returning to focus on working closer to family,” the spokesperson said.
“The office of the cross border commissioner is fundamental in supporting the state government to identify opportunities and enhance regional social and economic development outcomes.
“We look forward to providing an update on a new Cross Border Commissioner in the near future.”
The Cross Border Commissioner job was a pre-election promise made by the current state government with Ms McKinnon taking on the role in April this year.
She was announced as the recipient of the position last December.
In reports made throughout the year by The Border Watch, Ms McKinnon had travelled to a vast number of cross-border communities and had been a part of more than 70 meetings.
In June she already passed the halfway mark through her 100-day plan.
Issues she remained vocal about included biosecurity, forestry, fire management, tradespeoples accreditations and access to training and education.
Recently at the 2023 Limestone Coast Local Health Network community meeting, Ms McKinnon spoke about the impacts on interstate health and the travel many patients participate in.
According to the Cross Border Commissioner website, focus areas also included facilitating collaboration between governments and service providers to address issues involving cross border communities, work and engage with all tiers of government, businesses and the community to ensure the needs of those communities would be implemented in policy, procedures and legislations.
Key objectives also included identifying key barriers, advocating for a simplified regulatory environment, facilitating better access and update and informing the government.
