Annette Ellis (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I endorse the comments just made by the member for Page. I have been a member of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories for 10 years now and, over that period, I have got to know Norfolk Island reasonably well. It is a privilege for me to have the opportunity to speak on this report on the visit to Norfolk Island of 2 to 5 August 2006 by the Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories. In doing so I want to first of all thank the Administrator of Norfolk Island, the Hon. Grant Tambling, his Official Secretary, Mr Owen Walsh, and their staff for their assistance during this visit and previous visits. I also wish to thank the Chief Minister of Norfolk Island, the Hon. David Buffett, and members of the Norfolk Island government and legislative assembly for their time and assistance and particularly for their positive and constructive comments and reaction to our most recent visit.

As the member for Page said, it is fair to say that the relationship between our standing committee and some of those on the island in recent times has been a little bit stretched. Norfolk Island is one of the most remarkably unique and beautiful places—historically, as well—that one could ever wish to visit. It is also very small and, because of its uniqueness in history, it has an attitude to itself that is remarkably independent. Whilst I admire that trait enormously, that independence tends to bring with it some challenges. The challenges facing that island are more remarkable and more obvious than ever, particularly in terms of its financial and social future.

Many of the reports that our committee has done in the past have led us down the path of recognising those very difficulties as well. I think we are now at a point where some hard decisions are going to have to be taken by both the government and the parliament here and the government and parliament on Norfolk Island. But I am absolutely certain, and I am more optimistic now than ever before, that the decisions that have to be taken are going to be done in a bipartisan fashion. The reception that the committee got on the island during this most recent visit leads me to conclude that, despite the difficulties and the challenges, the outcomes that we are together going to reach will be reached for the benefit of the future of Norfolk Island, financially, economically and socially, and also for the wellbeing and future of the people who live on the island.

The dependence that it has on tourism is obvious, and there are a lot of things that will have to be done to ensure that that can continue as an industry in a positive way. The process of reform has taken a substantial step forward. The current minister, the Minister for Territories, Local Government and Roads, Minister Lloyd, ministers before him and my colleague in the Senate, the shadow minister for local government and territories, Senator Carr, have all done a great deal of work across all of those areas with the Norfolk Island government to attempt to come to a model in the future that will ensure its continuing viability as a community.

I understand there was a meeting between the NIG and Minister Lloyd here in Canberra on 21 August just gone. That meeting concluded, as we say in our report, with the Norfolk Island government indicating acceptance of a territory type model of self-government. There were positive indications of a compromise for future negotiations on matters of detail. Those matters of detail are where the hard work will happen and where a lot of negotiation and compromise will be required. But one has to believe it is going to happen because it simply has to.

As a committee, we support the extension of the Australian taxation, social security and Medicare systems into the island. We also support business and consumer law, as we understand it, on mainland Australia to be effective on that island. However, it is really important to say that the committee is cognisant of the need to implement Australian law in a way that is sensitive to that unique circumstance that we talk about on Norfolk Island. Yes, there will always be a small number of people on the island who will resist any change in the future regardless, but they are a small minority. In our opinion, the overwhelming majority view on that island now is that something has to be done to secure its future. This visit and this report are very important steps in that process to ensuring that it is going to happen. I look forward, along with the other committee members, to seeing that outcome in the very near future. I wish everybody on Norfolk Island the very greatest of success in that process—a very important and historic process—which is now under way.

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