Ian Causley (Page, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories, I present the committee’s report on the visit to Norfolk Island, 2 to 5 August 2006.

Ordered that the report be made a parliamentary paper.

This report is an addendum to a report that was done by the committee a few years ago. Many of the things that the report deals with were dealt with in the previous report, but I think that it adds to that report and certainly makes some fairly careful recommendations with regard to Norfolk Island.

First of all, I thank the government and the people of Norfolk Island for the very cordial welcome they gave us to the island. We had a very close look at a number of things on the island that are concerning them and, I dare say, should also concern us as Australians.

People would know that there has been a longstanding situation on Norfolk Island where there may be a stand-off and a lack of trust between the government of Norfolk Island and the government and ministers here in Australia. Having said that, I think it is imperative that we work together. Obviously, the only way we can progress and make sure that Norfolk Island is a viable community is to work very closely together as governments.

One of the questions we looked at—and there was some comment from the minister previous to that—was the viability of Norfolk Island. There was, I would say, a disagreement by those on Norfolk Island to a report done by the Australian government into the long-term viability of the island. But I do believe that, if you look closely at the finances of the island, there is a need for islanders to work with Australia on the long-term viability of that community. Having said that, I think Australia also needs to take a very close look at the culture of Norfolk Island. Norfolk Island does have a different culture and history from that of Australia. Therefore, some of the things that we might automatically take for granted here on the continent do not necessarily apply to the people and to the governance of Norfolk Island. Being such a small community, I think that it has to understand that it is difficult to run a parliamentary system like we run in Australia. There needs to be some accommodation between the two to get something that might work effectively.

I think the community itself was concerned about the fact that, if it was taken over in some way by Australia, it would become a welfare state. I do not think anyone in this parliament wants to see that. There is no doubt that Norfolk Island has long had a reputation of being an area where tourists can go to buy things. They are battling in the modern world in that sense, so there needs to be some help from the Australian government to ensure that that type of viability can be maintained.

There are two areas that the committee looked at. If you look at the jetties around the island that are used for their trade, you see that they are limited. I know it is not an easy problem because, engineering wise, there is probably quite a lot of work that needs to be done for an all-weather jetty in Norfolk Island. But it is something I believe this government needs to look very carefully at. It is the same with the airport, which is obviously very important for tourism. We found to our astonishment that we could not get off the island because the airport did not have the facilities for planes to land in bad weather. I dare say that that has an effect on tourism. I think it is something this government should have a close look at.

They have problems with airline viability. They have had one airline fail and, unfortunately, I think the present airline has had some problems in recent times. It is a real issue that we can look that. If the two governments work together, I have no doubt in my mind that Norfolk Island can be a viable community. But it does need the support of the Australian government. Other territories get support, and there is every reason that Norfolk Island should get some support. Working together we can flesh out exactly what can be done to help with not only the governance but also the long-term viability of a very unique community.

Annette Ellis (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to 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.