Politics of Norfolk Island takes place in a framework of a

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

representative democratic Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represe ...

entity.

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

is the only non-mainland Australian territory to have achieved self-governance. The

Norfolk Island Act 1979 The Norfolk Island Act 1979 was an Act of the Parliament of Australia. It acknowledged the sovereign British Possession of Norfolk Islands' powers of self-government in conjunction to standing Australian policy. The Act formally recognised the ...

, passed by the

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...

in 1979, is the Act under which the island is governed. In a move that apparently surprised many islanders, the Chief Minister of Norfolk Island

David Buffett David Ernest Buffett AM (born 17 October 1942) is a political figure from the Australian territory of Norfolk Island. He served as Chief Minister of Norfolk Island from March 2010 to March 2013; he has also held the position three previous o ...

announced on 6 November 2010 that the island would voluntarily surrender its tax free status in return for a financial bailout from the federal government to cover significant debts. It was announced on 19 March 2015 that self-governance for the island would be revoked by the Commonwealth and replaced by a local council with the state of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

providing services to the island. A reason given was that the island had never gained self-sufficiency and was being heavily subsidised by the Commonwealth, by $12.5 million in 2015 alone. It meant residents would have to start paying Australian income tax, but they would also be covered by Australian welfare schemes such as Medicare. The

Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly The Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly was the prime legislative body of Norfolk Island from 1979 to 2015. Formed after the Norfolk Island Act 1979 was passed in the Australian parliament, its first members were elected on 10 August 1979. The ...

decided to hold a referendum on the proposal, to be held on 8 May 2015. Voters were asked if Norfolk Islanders should freely determine their political status, their economic, social and cultural development, and to "be consulted at referendum or plebiscite on the future model of governance for Norfolk Island before such changes are acted upon by the Australian parliament." The outcome of the referendum echoed a resounding 'Yes' with 68% of the vote confirming that Norfolk Islanders should have the right to determine their political and cultural development freely and not have it imposed upon them. The Norfolk Island Chief Minister said that "the referendum results blow a hole in Canberra's assertion that the reforms introduced before the Australian Parliament that propose abolishing the Legislative Assembly and Norfolk Island Parliament were overwhelmingly supported by the people of Norfolk Island". The Norfolk Island Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 passed the

Australian Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...

on 14 May 2015 (Assented on 26 May 2015) abolishing self-government on Norfolk Island and transferring Norfolk Island into a

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

as part of New South Wales law. From 1 July 2016 Norfolk Island legislation was transferred to New South Wales and subject to NSW legislation. From 1 July 2016, the

Norfolk Island Regional Council The Norfolk Island Regional Council is the local government body of Norfolk Island, an island territory of Australia in the south Pacific Ocean. It is subject to the state-level legislation of New South Wales. History Prior to July 2015, Nor ...

was established to govern Norfolk Island at the local level as a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

subject to the laws of New South Wales.

Executive branch

The Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly was abolished on 1 July 2015 and replaced with the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

maintaining authority on the island through an Administrator (currently

Eric Hutchinson Eric Hutchinson (born September 8, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his songs " Rock & Roll", "OK, It's Alright with Me", "Not There Yet", "Watching You Watch Him", and "Tell the World". Hutchinson was named an AOL "About t ...

) who is appointed by the

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Executive Council, which devises policy and acts as an advisory body to the Administrator. This council would be headed by the

Administrator of Norfolk Island The administrator of Norfolk Island acts as a representative both of The Crown and of the Government of Australia, as well as carrying out other duties according to the ''Norfolk Island Amendment Act 2015''.Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

granted permission to Pitcairn Islanders to re-settle on the island. These views have been repeatedly rejected by the Australian parliament's joint committee on territories, most recently in 2004, and were also rejected by the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

in ''Berwick Ltd v Gray''. Disagreements over the island's relationship with Australia have been put in sharper relief by a 2006 review undertaken by the Australian government. Under the more radical of two proposed models proposed as a result of the review, the island's legislative assembly would be reduced to the status of a local council.

Changes from July 2016

Residents of Norfolk Island who are citizens of Australia and meet the normal enrolment requirements are required to enrol to vote in Australian federal and once enrolled must vote. 393 people voted at the polling booths on Norfolk Island for the Canberra electorate at the 2016 Federal election, with 16.5% of votes being informal. 777 Norfolk Island residents were on the Commonwealth electoral roll , and 669 people voted at the booths on Norfolk Island in the 2019 Federal election in the newly created Bean electorate, with 17.8% of votes being informal. The election for the inaugural Norfolk Island Regional Council occurred on 28 May 2016, with the new council taking office on 1 July 2016. Three of the five councilors elected supported self-determination. From 1 July 2016, Norfolk Island residents came under Australian levies, personal or business income and corporation taxation by the

Australian Tax Office The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is an Australian statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian Government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Australian federal taxation system, superannuati ...

. Also both Centrelink and Medicare will apply to Norfolk Island. In addition, flights between mainland Australia and Norfolk Island became classified as domestic not international meaning a passport was no longer required by visiting Australian citizens. Despite New South Wales laws being applied on Norfolk Island, residents are not eligible to vote in New South Wales elections.

Independence

Some residents on Norfolk Island advocate independence from Australia. In 2013, Chief Minister

Lisle Snell Lisle Denis Snell is a Norfolk Island politician, who from 20 March 2013 until 17 June 2015 was the final Chief Minister of Norfolk Island. He also served as Minister for Tourism. Both offices were abolished, along with the Norfolk Island Legis ...

claimed that Norfolk Island could survive alone. He also told

Radio Australia ABC Radio Australia, also known as Radio Australia, is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Australia's public broadcaster. Most programming is in English, with some in Tok ...

that 'Norfolk-Pitcairn people see themselves as a people with some rights to self-determination' that the Island's future relationship with Australia was not clear, but also stated that for the time being they need to integrate further with Australia for financial reasons.

Foreign relations

As a territory of Australia, Norfolk Island does not have diplomatic representation abroad or within the territory. It is however a full participant in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (an international organisation) and a member in its own right of a number of international sporting organisations (e.g. the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Politics of Norfolk Island

Executive branch

Changes from July 2016

Independence

Foreign relations

See also

References