Steve Toms was today named as the state’s first cross-border commissioner by NSW deputy premier Andrew Stoner.
Mr Toms takes up the role on March 12 and has said his first job will be meeting with border communities to hear their views.
He has been appointed initially for a two-year term.
Recent months have seen a great deal of speculation regarding some of the more contentious issues that divide the states, including health care, transport, education and, in the case of NSW and QLD, daylight saving.
But Mr Toms has yet to be drawn on which of these would attract his immediate attention, saying only that his first priority would be to consult with residents of the state’s border communities.
Mr Toms has previously worked as a land manager for NSW Parks and Wildlife Service and Forests NSW, and has been a councillor and mayor of Glen Innes Severn Shire.
