John Hogg (Queensland, Deputy-President) Share this | Hansard source

We would actually prefer Labor, but that is beside the point, Senator Parry. One of the things about the Senate is that invariably the people in the constituencies of the territories get at least one of either major political persuasion, so if they do not like the Liberal representative they can go to the Labor senator or vice versa. But, in the case of the people of Norfolk Island, they do not have this choice because there are no designated senators for them.

The report back in 2003 made recommendations that the citizens of Norfolk Island should be on the roll attached to the federal electorate division of Canberra. They therefore would be given access not only to whoever the federal member for the federal division of Canberra is but also to two senators. In that case, that would be one from the Liberal Party and one from the Australian Labor Party. I do not care who they choose to go to—that is their business—but it at least gives them a basic and fundamental democratic right that is not available to them currently. That is terribly important.

My call right throughout this—and I am not a lone voice—has been for the government to act on the electoral reform earlier than any other governance reforms that it might implement regarding Norfolk Island. There is a simple reason for that: these people, if they have the opportunity to all have a single designated member such as the member for the federal division of the electorate of Canberra, would have access to that person and to two senators. That would be important in going forward with the legislative package that the government will undoubtedly bring to this parliament. The people of Norfolk Island have the right to go to more than just a member of a single political party, which will happen if they are stuck with just the House of Representatives seat. They will have at least some alternative in terms of having their views represented through the Senate. That is terribly important. As part of their reform program, I urge the government to consider bringing early legislation into this place to enact this part of the reforms so that these people can get proper representation and can use the facilities of the Parliament of Australia to have their voices heard when this legislation finally hits.