Banana-benders and cockroaches1

This chapter explores the difficulties, historical and contemporary, in coordinating planning and the effective delivery of public services in an Australian city that straddles the border between the states of Queensland and New South Wales. As a federation of states and territories, each with constitutional authority and responsibility for services and functions such as education, health and policing, Australia is vulnerable to this problem in a general way. Furthermore, there are some places that cross borders and thus face this problem with particular intensity, and the most significant is the city of Gold Coast/Tweed Heads. From a collection of small coastal villages at the time of Federation, to now the sixth largest and one of the fastest-growing cities in Australia, the city of Gold Coast/Tweed Heads provides an excellent illustration of the challenges faced by State governments, local governments and other public authorities in managing border settlements. The chapter illustrates the case with examples of border closures and their consequences, inconsistent service standards and with attempts to realign established borders.