MUCH has been spoken about the notion that Jersey and Guernsey, communities with a great many shared interests, should co-operate more closely and share a range of public services. Unfortunately, the talk has so far been matched by very little action, though that is apparently about change.

The idea that our new energy from waste plant, with its impressive capacity, could cope with refuse shipments from Guernsey as well as this Island’s rubbish remains just an idea, but a first step towards the joint regulation of competition will soon be taken.

Thanks to the efforts of our Economic Development Minister, Deputy Alan Maclean, and his counterpart in Guernsey, Commerce and Employment Minister Carla McNulty Bauer, the head of Guernsey’s competition watchdog, John Curran, will assume responsibility for both Islands in October. Mr Curran will take over the role of the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority’s Chuck Webb, who is stepping down.

That, however, will not be the end of the matter. The longer-term aim is the total integration of the two islands’ regulatory systems. If this can indeed be arranged, it will clearly save far more than the £120,000 that sharing a salary and avoiding one-off recruitment costs are estimated to be worth.

These developments are very welcome, but it must still be said that it is taking far too long for both Bailiwicks to recognise their common goals and to seek to achieve them jointly. And, sadly, the lack of co-operation could be due to factors that have little to do with the inherent problems of uniting bureaucracies separated by 20 miles of sea.

Absurd as it might be, inter-island rivalry remains a force to be reckoned with – not only on the sports field but also in the shape of long-held prejudices, suspicions and animosity. Politicians here and in Guernsey should be able to rise easily above such anachronistic enmities – which, happily, is exactly what Deputy Maclean and Deputy McNulty Bauer are doing.

Meanwhile, Islanders in both Bailiwicks should be very pleased indeed if a joint approach to the regulation of competition paves the way for many other joint initiatives. There is more to unite the islands than there is to separate them, and recognition of this could easily save vast amounts of money which, through duplication of effort, are currently being squandered.