There were two announcements by the new Liberal and Nationals NSW Government yesterday, that will have a direct positive impact for residents of the North Coast.  The search for the NSW Cross Border Commissioner will start this weekend and increases to the Isolated Patients Transport and Accommodation Scheme (IPTAAS) were also announced.

Minister for North Coast and Member for Ballina, Don Page, said it was very encouraging to see the delivery of two more election commitments for the North Coast.

Minister Page said that the position of NSW Cross Border Commissioner will be advertised this weekend.

"The Cross Border Commissioner will be an advocate for all border communities in NSW including the North Coast," he said.

"I first introduced legislation to address cross border issues in 2000 but it was rejected by the then Labor Government," Minister Page said.

"Our Government is committed to properly representing rural and regional communities in NSW, including border communities.  These communities were ignored for too long under the former city-centric Labor Government."

The Cross Border Commissioner will work closely with border communities and stakeholders to strengthen cross border arrangements and improve services affected by a community's border location.

"Border communities, like the Tweed on the North Coast face unique and often complex issues that have been left to fall through the cracks until now," Minister Page said.

"We also announced the substantial increases to IPTAAS yesterday," Minister Page said.

"These increases will directly benefit people on the North Coast who have to travel more than 100km one way to access specialist medical treatment," he said.

The accommodation subsidies will be increased from $33 to $43 per single person and from $46 to $60 per double.  Reimbursement for car travel will be increased from 15 cents to 19 cents per kilometre.

It will also be easier for patients to stay with family and friends when receiving specialist medical treatment, with a subsidy of $140 per week, up from $30 per week.

"The two announcements that have been made are examples of why I fought so hard to have the North Coast represented by a North Coast Minister.  The North Coast deserves regional representation at the Cabinet table and I am very proud to be the first Minister for the North Coast.

"Under our new Government we not only have outstanding representation on the North Coast at a local level, we are also now represented at a Ministerial level and soon will have another advocate in the Cross Border Commissioner," Minister Page said.