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Politics of Norfolk Island takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic entity. Norfolk Island is the only non-mainland Australian territory to have achieved self-governance. The Norfolk Island Act 1979, passed by the Parliament of Australia in 1979, is the Act under which the island is governed.
The Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly was abolished on 1 July 2015 and replaced with the Australian Government maintaining authority on the island through an Administrator (currently Eric Hutchinson) who is appointed by the Governor-General of Australia. Two of the members of the Assembly would form the Executive Council, which devises policy and acts as an advisory body to the Administrator. This council would be headed by the Administrator of Norfolk Island. [1]
Controversy exists as to the exact status of Norfolk Island. Despite the island's status as a self-governing territory of Australia, some Islanders claim [2] that it was actually granted independence at the time Queen Victoria granted permission to Pitcairn Islanders to re-settle on the island. These views have been repeatedly rejected by the Australian parliament's joint committee on territories, most recently in 2004, and were also rejected by the High Court of Australia in Berwick Ltd v Gray. [3]
Disagreements over the island's relationship with Australia were put in sharper relief by a 2006 review undertaken by the Australian government. Under the more radical of two proposed models proposed as a result of the review, the island's legislative assembly would be reduced to the status of a local council. [4]
In a move that apparently surprised many islanders, the Chief Minister of Norfolk Island David Buffett announced on 6 November 2010 that the island would voluntarily surrender its tax free status in return for a financial bailout from the federal government to cover significant debts. [5]
It was announced on 19 March 2015 that self-governance for the island would be revoked by the Commonwealth and replaced by a local council with the state of New South Wales providing services to the island. A reason given was that the island had never gained self-sufficiency and was being heavily subsidised by the Commonwealth, by $12.5 million in 2015 alone. It meant residents would have to start paying Australian income tax, but they would also be covered by Australian welfare schemes such as Medicare. [6]
The Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly decided to hold a referendum on the proposal in 2015. Voters were asked if Norfolk Islanders should freely determine their political status, their economic, social and cultural development, and to "be consulted at referendum or plebiscite on the future model of governance for Norfolk Island before such changes are acted upon by the Australian parliament." [7] The outcome of the referendum was a 68% 'Yes' vote. The Norfolk Island Chief Minister said that "the referendum results blow a hole in Canberra's assertion that the reforms introduced before the Australian Parliament that propose abolishing the Legislative Assembly and Norfolk Island Parliament were overwhelmingly supported by the people of Norfolk Island". [8]
The Norfolk Island Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 passed the Australian Parliament on 14 May 2015 (Assented on 26 May 2015) abolishing self-government on Norfolk Island and transferring Norfolk Island into a council as part of New South Wales law. [9] From 1 July 2016 Norfolk Island legislation was transferred to New South Wales and subject to NSW legislation. [10] From 1 July 2016, the Norfolk Island Regional Council was established to govern Norfolk Island at the local level as a local government area subject to the laws of New South Wales. [11]
Residents of Norfolk Island who are citizens of Australia and meet the normal enrolment requirements are required to enrol to vote in Australian federal and once enrolled must vote. 393 people voted at the polling booths on Norfolk Island for the Canberra electorate at the 2016 Federal election, with 16.5% of votes being informal. [12] 777 Norfolk Island residents were on the Commonwealth electoral roll as of 1 April 2019 [update] , [13] and 669 people voted at the booths on Norfolk Island in the 2019 Federal election in the newly created Bean electorate, with 17.8% of votes being informal. [14]
The election for the inaugural Norfolk Island Regional Council occurred on 28 May 2016, [15] with the new council taking office on 1 July 2016. Three of the five councilors elected supported self-determination. [16]
From 1 July 2016, Norfolk Island residents came under Australian levies, personal or business income and corporation taxation by the Australian Tax Office. [17] Also both Centrelink and Medicare will apply to Norfolk Island. In addition, flights between mainland Australia and Norfolk Island became classified as domestic not international meaning a passport was no longer required by visiting Australian citizens. [18] Despite New South Wales laws being applied on Norfolk Island, residents are not eligible to vote in New South Wales elections. [19]
Some residents on Norfolk Island advocate independence from Australia. In 2013, Chief Minister Lisle Snell claimed that Norfolk Island could survive alone. [20] He also told Radio Australia that 'Norfolk-Pitcairn people see themselves as a people with some rights to self-determination' that the Island's future relationship with Australia was not clear, but also stated that for the time being they need to integrate further with Australia for financial reasons. [21]
As a territory of Australia, Norfolk Island does not have diplomatic representation abroad or within the territory. It is however a full participant in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (an international organisation) and a member in its own right of a number of international sporting organisations (e.g. the Commonwealth Games).
Norfolk Island is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, 1,412 kilometres (877 mi) directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about 900 kilometres (560 mi) from Lord Howe Island. Together with the neighbouring Phillip Island and Nepean Island, the three islands collectively form the Territory of Norfolk Island. At the 2021 census, it had 2,188 inhabitants living on a total area of about 35 km2 (14 sq mi). Its capital is Kingston.
Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories have the power to make legislation relevant to the area, thus granting them a higher level of autonomy.
The flag of Norfolk Island is a triband consisting of green, white, and green bands charged with a green Norfolk Island pine in the centre. Adopted in 1979 when the islands gained limited self-government, it has been the flag of the Territory of Norfolk Island since 6 June of that year. The pine is native to the territory and is its official tree.
The parliaments of the Australian states and territories are legislative bodies within the federal framework of the Commonwealth of Australia.
Referendums in the United Kingdom are occasionally held at a national, regional or local level. Historically, national referendums are rare due to the long-standing principle of parliamentary sovereignty. There is no constitutional requirement to hold a national referendum for any purpose or on any issue however the UK Parliament is free to legislate through an Act of Parliament for a referendum to be held on any question at any time.
The second question of the 1967 Australian referendum of 27 May 1967, called by the Holt government, related to Indigenous Australians. Voters were asked whether to give the Commonwealth Parliament the power to make special laws for Indigenous Australians in states, and whether Indigenous Australians should be included in official population counts for constitutional purposes. The term "the Aboriginal Race" was used in the question.
In Australia, referendums are public votes held on important issues where the electorate may approve or reject a certain proposal. In contemporary usage, polls conducted on non-constitutional issues are known as plebiscites, with the term referendum being reserved solely for votes on constitutional changes, which is legally required to make a change to the Constitution of Australia.
The Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 is an Act of the Parliament of Australia enacted on 6 December 1988, that establishes "a body politic under the Crown by the name of the Australian Capital Territory" and is the constitutional foundation of the Territory's government.
The Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly was the prime legislative body of Norfolk Island from 1979 to 2015. Formed after the Norfolk Island Act 1979 was passed in the Australian Parliament, its first members were elected on 10 August 1979. The last assembly was the 14th, elected on 13 March 2013. On 17 June 2015, the Australian Government abolished the assembly, ending self-government on the island. Norfolk Island Regional Council, a local government body instituted under New South Wales law and with significantly-restricted powers, was established in July 2016 to perform local-level governance on the island.
The states and territories are the second level of government of Australia. The states are administrative divisions that are self-governing polities that are partly sovereign, having ceded some sovereign rights to the federal government. They have their own constitutions, legislatures, executive governments, judiciaries and law enforcement agencies that administer and deliver public policies and programs. Territories can be autonomous and administer local policies and programs much like the states in practice, but are still legally subordinate to the federal government.
A federacy is a form of government where one or several substate units enjoy considerably more independence than the majority of the substate units. To some extent, such an arrangement can be considered to be similar to asymmetric federalism.
The Norfolk Island Act 1979 is an act of the Parliament of Australia. It acknowledged the sovereign British Possession of Norfolk Islands' powers of self-government in conjunction to standing Australian policy. The Act formally recognised the Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly and the Assembly's powers to pass, amend, and repeal laws, and – subject to the assent of the Administrator of Norfolk Island – executive powers. The Act was made under the powers granted to Parliament in section 122 of the Constitution of Australia.
In the United Kingdom, devolution is the Parliament of the United Kingdom's statutory granting of a greater level of self-government to the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the London Assembly and to their associated executive bodies: the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, the Northern Ireland Executive and in England, the Greater London Authority and combined authorities.
The Norfolk Island Regional Council is the local government body of Norfolk Island, an island territory of Australia in the south Pacific Ocean. It is subject to the state-level legislation of New South Wales.
The Referendums Act 1997 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which made legal provision for the holding of two non-binding referendums in both Scotland on the establishment of a democratically elected Scottish Parliament with tax-varying powers and in Wales on the establishment of a democratically elected Welsh Assembly. In an unusual move the referendums bill was introduced to the House of Commons by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair himself on 15 May 1997 just two weeks after the landslide Labour victory in the 1997 General Election and was the very first Government sponsored Bill to be presented to the Commons by the Blair Government of 1997-2007. The Act received royal assent on 31 July 1997 and became Spent upon the conclusion of both referendums.
Robin Eleanor Adams is a Norfolk Islander politician. Adams was elected to the Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly in 2010, becoming the body's first female speaker. When the assembly was dissolved five years later, she became a member of the Norfolk Island Regional Council and was elected as mayor of the island, a position she held until the entire council was dismissed in 2021.
The 2016 Norfolk Island local election was held on 28 May 2016 to elect the Norfolk Island Regional Council, the local government body of Norfolk Island.
A referendum was held in Norfolk Island on 8 May 2015, asking residents if they should have a say in determining the island's political status. The referendum was successful, although the result was non-binding.
The Norfolk Island Liberal Party, more commonly referred to simply as the Norfolk Liberals, is the Norfolk Island wing of the Liberal Party of Australia. It currently operates as the "Norfolk Island Interest Branch" of the Canberra Liberals.
