VIDEO: ACT seeks border expansion into NSW for housing development

EMILY BAKER, REPORTER:  It’s the bush capital, the heart of democracy and home to our national institutions.

Those who live here say Canberra has it all.

ANDREW BARR, ACT CHIEF MINISTER:  Canberra is Australia's cool little capital.

EMILY BAKER:  Andrew Barr is not looking for more tourists, he's got a bigger plan in mind - territorial expansion. Shifting the border so this land in New South Wales becomes part of the ACT.

ANDREW BARR:  Canberra is proving to be a really popular place to live. So we need to build more housing and we're looking to do that in a number of different locations but one project sees us hit right up against the current ACT-New South Wales border.

EMILY BAKER:  That project is Ginninderry – a planned 11,500 homes accommodating up to 30,000 people.

The border dividing state and territory runs through the top third of the development.

The land on the New South Wales side, known as Parkwood, is surrounded by water and only accessible via the ACT.

ANDREW BARR:  Clearly, the border at the moment, somewhat arbitrary, in that it was a straight line drawn more than a century ago, doesn't follow the rest of the, I guess, the pattern of the ACT border, which was very much driven by access to water and water catchments.

DR ANDREW BURRIDGE, MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY:  Ginninderry is probably one of the first large scale urban developments that will cross the border for some time. And so having a border run through the middle leads to some interesting quandaries.

EMILY BAKER:  Crossing the border is easy. Just in the time I’ve been talking, I’ve moved from the ACT here, into New South Wales.

But in those few seconds, I’ve become subject to different laws. I'm under the jurisdiction of a new police force, at the mercy of a new health and education system. These are real challenges for anyone trying to build a seamless cross-border community.

There are effectively three options on the table.

Should Parkwood remain in New South Wales, the state government and local council could contract most services to the ACT.

ANDREW BARR:  It would mean a negotiation with the New South Wales Government on everything from schooling, emergency services, council level services as well.

EMILY BAKER:  Or find a way to deliver the majority themselves.

ANDREW BARR:  It would be a very odd set of service provision because again, all those New South Wales services could only access the area by coming through the ACT.

EMILY BAKER:  If the border shifts, Parkwood will become the sole responsibility of the territory.

STEPHEN HARDING, PROJECT DIRECTOR:  So here's a model of the development.

EMILY BAKER:  The project director says he’s agnostic

STEPHEN HARDING:  From our perspective, we've been planning a cross border development from the get-go. We're continuing to plan on that basis.

For the immediate term, the development will be in the ACT and focused within the ACT. Roughly speaking, we're looking at potentially striking a blow in New South Wales around about 2028.

EMILY BAKER:  The Yass Valley Council, which is currently responsible for the Parkwood land, has crunched the numbers.

Its chief executive agrees with the ACT - moving the border makes most sense.

CHRIS BERRY, YASS VALLEY COUNCIL:  We've done our own analysis and found that there are some significant financial risks because the rate revenue that will be generated from that area would not be sufficient to be able to cater for maintaining the assets and the services to an ACT standard in that locality.

EMILY BAKER:  Chris Berry is worried the same analysis isn’t being done by the New South Wales Government.

CHRIS BERRY:  While council has done its homework, I don't think the state agencies have turned their attention to it at this particular point in time, but hopefully, we'll get a hurry up from them in the in the next 12 months.

EMILY BAKER:  We asked for an interview with the New South Wales Planning Minister but received a statement from the Planning Department instead.

A STATEMENT FROM NSW PLANNING DEPARTMENT:  An assessment on the infrastructure servicing needs for Ginninderry is being progressed ... costs of servicing Ginninderry would be one of several matters for consideration in regards to any potential border change.

EMILY BAKER:  State and territory borders have barely moved in more than a century – not since the ACT was established in 1911, and the Jervis Bay Territory in 1915.

Dr Andrew Burridge is a political geographer who’s taken an interest in the Ginninderry proposal.

ANDREW BURRIDGE:  This is very uncommon, and really hasn't been seen other than some minor realignments, some changes in the boundaries that are very minimal. So this is really the first substantive change since Federation.

EMILY BAKER:  Moving the border would require approval from the ACT, New South Wales and federal parliaments.

ANDREW BURRIDGE:  So this is uncharted territory about how this happens, but it is within our constitution. So this is a constitutional matter to some extent, alongside agreement from the state and territory involved. But how this actually happens is a little bit on the fly in the sense of figuring this out.

EMILY BAKER:  About 2,000 people already live on the ACT side of the Ginninderry development. Debbie Masri moved into her new home in October 2021.

DEBBIE MASRI, RESIDENT:  When I came here and had a look at the display homes, and realised all the elements that were going into building a sustainable community in Ginninderry, I found that extremely attractive.

EMILY BAKER:  She’s watching new builds pop up around her and says anything that helps ease the housing crisis is welcome.

DEBBIE MASRI:  I think if the New South Wales Government and the ACT Government can come to an arrangement that benefits both peoples, or both communities, then why not?

EMILY BAKER:  The ACT is willing to negotiate over the Parkwood land – offering to discuss sharing its water supply with nearby New South Wales communities.

The chief minister is hopeful of a resolution on the border soon.

And what do you say to people who might think there's already enough ACT in Australia?

ANDREW BARR:  I think it's been really pleasing to see over the last 10 years in particular, that Canberra's reputation has improved considerably.

I think we would win the award for Australia's most improved city. We’re seeing that in people voting with their feet, wanting to live here.