Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Housing and Urban Development) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to speak on the report of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories, Report on the visit to Norfolk Island: 2-5 August 2006. This is a report which the opposition fully supported. The report came after a long-delayed visit to Norfolk Island. The visit occurred after many cancellations, deferrals and postponements. In my experience as a new member of the committee, those delays were not necessarily the fault of the committee. There appeared to be an unwillingness on behalf of the Norfolk Island government up until that time to expedite a visit by the committee, and there was obviously a desperate need for the committee to examine some of the very serious problems faced by that government as well as examine the very grave concerns of Australian citizens on Norfolk Island.

I was obviously very impressed with the work of the committee and the effectiveness of the work of this committee over a period of five years in pursuing issues of basic human rights on behalf of Australian citizens on Norfolk Island. After many years of inaction, I am pleased to see that the Howard government has now finally recognised the true extent of the problems on Norfolk Island and is finally taking action to address them. At the same time it might also be said that the tabling of this report, with its summary of the many issues that have oppressed inhabitants on Norfolk Island, provides an appropriate opportunity to acknowledge the determination—and I say this with all sincerity—of the current Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, Mr Jim Lloyd, in pursuing these long-overdue reforms. The task of the parliament now is to ensure that necessary reforms with regard to the governance and the economy of Norfolk Island are fully implemented and done so in a way that ensures that the lives of Norfolk Islanders are changed for the better.

In terms of Norfolk Island, the work of this committee has been marked by a bipartisan approach. The opposition have already indicated to the minister that we are taking the same approach now that reform for Norfolk Island is, hopefully, imminent. But, in the opinion of the opposition, such reform must be thoroughgoing. Such reform must not repeat mistakes of the past and leave the job of reform half done. The relationship between the Commonwealth government and Norfolk Island has, for too long, been marked by piecemeal change or, worse still, indifference and neglect on the part of the Commonwealth and its departments. We should all be aware of the areas of greatest need—the worst of the social, economic and political problems that need to be addressed in this forthcoming reform package.

It should come as no surprise to any senator here that there is indeed a crisis in the governance of Norfolk Island. There are problems stemming from inadequate machinery of government. There are problems arising from a lack of regulatory codes of conduct. There are problems arising from an inability to manage perceived conflicts of interest and improper conduct. There are problems that arise as a result of the lack of any effective separation between public responsibilities and private interests on the island. In the words of the joint standing committee’s 2003 report:

It has become increasingly clear that beneath the surface, informal mechanisms are being allowed to operate with impunity. The Committee is aware of growing community concern over the activities of these elements.

Problems in governance are matched by the increasingly obvious incapacity of the Norfolk Island government to provide islanders with basic service provision in such fundamental areas as aged care, pensions, health and medical benefits. And the list goes on. There are fundamental requirements for reform in auditing practice, criminal justice, child welfare and company law. There are fundamental reforms required in the provision of basic services like telephones, power, water, roads, port facilities and garbage disposal. These are fundamental human rights that every citizen in this country would expect to be provided as a matter of right, but in my judgement they are not being provided on Norfolk Island.

The picture of crisis provided by a series of committee reports since 2003 has now been confirmed by such agencies as the Commonwealth Grants Commission as well as by independent consultants retained by the government. There are those who still suggest that no real change is needed and therefore Norfolk Islanders do not want it. They point to a majority of submissions in recent inquiries that oppose change. We have heard them all before, and we heard them in August. They tell the committee that the island is best left to itself. That is an argument that I regard as superficial at best and, in reality, deliberately misleading. If you look, for example, at the number of submissions marked ‘confidential’ in the appendices of the 2003 and 2005 committee reports, you see a different pattern emerging. These are from people who are opposed to the oligarchy of the rich and the powerful that run the island but who could only do so behind the protection of secrecy. It is true that there are those on the island fighting hard to protect their vested interest and their privileged tax status.

There are public voices telling the Commonwealth to keep its distance, but in my opinion there are a majority of people on the island that desperately want to see substantial reform. There are stories of elderly people who, falling sick on a Saturday, have to wait until the next Monday for medical attention because they cannot afford the surcharges applied for weekend medical assistance. There are those who are spending evenings by candlelight because they cannot afford the electricity bills. There are stories of those waiting for more than a year for the reimbursement of medical expenses under the island’s health insurance scheme.

The committee has seen since 2003, and indeed for much longer than that, well-orchestrated efforts by island diehards who would have us believe that Norfolk Island is some sort of utopia with no social problems, no need for Commonwealth intervention and no need for the application of citizens’ rights for the people of Norfolk Island on Norfolk Island. That is a view that I find very far from the truth. It is my opinion that islanders do want change. Some embrace the prospect; others come to that conclusion slowly. But increasing numbers are doing so.

I suggest that those who support a greater role for the Commonwealth need to understand that there is in fact substantial support amongst the Australian citizens on Norfolk Island who want to see that occur. Most Norfolk Islanders, in my opinion, do want to see the Commonwealth return and do appreciate the grave mistakes that have been made with regard to the self-government act of over 30 years ago.

The simple fact of life is that this parliament proposed a series of administrative reforms with regard to self-government and then walked away and neglected its responsibilities to the people of Norfolk Island. I think the majority of people want certainties in service provision. They want ethical governance. Only the Commonwealth of Australia can guarantee those basic rights. Many have judged that the current arrangements are in fact a failure and must be changed. As I said, most islanders believe that is the case. This is the parliament; this is the opportunity. I hope that, in the forthcoming cabinet submission, the decisions taken by the government will allow the opposition to support legislative change in this chamber and of course in the House of Representatives. As a consequence, Norfolk Island and the people of Norfolk Island can enjoy the full benefits of citizenship and the full benefits of being part of the Commonwealth of Australia.