Gordon Sinclair Thomson is a civic leader on the Australian external territory of

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...

. He served as President of the

Shire of Christmas Island The Shire of Christmas Island is a local government area of the Australian external territory of Christmas Island (; post code: 6798). The island is grouped with Western Australia but is administered by the Attorney-General's Department and an ...

from 2003 to 2011 and is, at present, the Shire-President again, serving since 2013. He is a member of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

and has also served as the General Secretary of the

Union of Christmas Island Workers The Union of Christmas Island Workers (UCIW) is a trade union in Christmas Island, the non self-governing territory of Australia. It represents workers on the island, and is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions The Austral ...

. In a February 2020 interview with

Guardian Australia ''Guardian Australia'' is the Australian website of the British global online and print newspaper, ''The Guardian''. Available solely in an online format, the newspaper's launch was led by Katharine Viner in time for the 2013 Australian fed ...

, it was reported that Thomson had lived on Christmas Island for 22 years. He stated that the island was treated like a "colony", that it should be placed on the

United Nations list of non-self-governing territories Chapter XI of the United Nations Charter defines a non-self-governing territory (NSGT) as a territory "whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government". In practice, an NSGT is a territory deemed by the United Nations Gener ...

, and that residents should pursue free association with Australia as an alternative to the island's current status.

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Australian politicians Christmas Island Mayors of places in Australia {{Australia-politician-stub