Elections In Norfolk
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Politics of Norfolk Island takes place in the framework of the '' Norfolk Island Act 1979'', an act of the
Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Monarchy of Australia, monarch of Australia (repr ...
which governs the status of
Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...
as an external territory of Australia. The
administrator of Norfolk Island The administrator of Norfolk Island acts as a representative both of the Crown and the Government of Australia The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national Exe ...
is appointed by the federal government and administered through a federal government department (the
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts (DITRDCSA), previously Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (DITRDCA) is a department ...
since 2022). Norfolk Island historically enjoyed a significant level of self-government, with 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 ...
serving as its independent legislature from 1979 to 2015 and electing a
chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...
. The Legislative Assembly was replaced by 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 Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbrevia ...
in 2016. The regional council operates under the
local government legislation Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
of the state of New South Wales, although Norfolk Island remains a federal territory. Residents of Norfolk Island are eligible to vote in federal elections, with their votes counting towards election of senators for the
Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...
(ACT) and the ACT-based
Division of Bean The Division of Bean is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, electoral division for the Australian House of Representatives in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Norfolk Island, which was created in 2018 and conteste ...
in the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
.


Political parties

The
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
(ALP) has been active on Norfolk Island for a number of years, and as of 2023 operated as a sub-branch of ACT Labor. At the
2010 Norfolk Island legislative election The 2010 Norfolk Island legislative election was held on 17 March 2010 to elect the 13th Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly, the prime legislative body of Norfolk Island. Following the elections, David Buffett replaced Andre Nobbs as Chief ...
, Labor ran four candidates, receiving 13.59% of the total vote. Mike King, a member of the party, served as leader of the opposition in the Legislative Assembly. However, King did not recontest the 2013 election. , a "Norfolk Island Interest Branch" operated within the
Canberra Liberals The Canberra Liberals, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia (Australian Capital Territory Division), is the division of the Liberal Party of Australia in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The party has been in opposition in ...
. At the 2015 status referendum, the local branches of both the ALP and Liberal Party supported the "no" vote, which was ultimately unsuccessful.


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 or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...
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 to ...
) who is appointed by the Governor-General of Australia. Two of the members of the Assembly would form the 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 the Government of Australia The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national Exe ...
.


Relationship with Australia

Controversy exists as to the exact status of Norfolk Island. Despite the island's status as a self-governing territory of Australia, some Islanders claim that it was actually granted independence at the time
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 January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
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 the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...
in ''Berwick Ltd v Gray''. Disagreements over the island's relationship with Australia were 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. 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 occ ...
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 New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
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 A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
on the proposal in 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 was a 68% 'Yes' vote. 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 Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Monarchy of Australia, monarch of Australia (repr ...
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 Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbrevia ...
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 federated state, state, province, division (politica ...
subject to the laws of New South Wales.


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 Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...
. 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, superannuatio ...
. 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.


State-based services switch to Queensland from 2022

Since 1 January 2022, Queensland has provided state-based services directly for Norfolk Island, taking over from New South Wales.


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 Leg ...
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 is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
).


See also

*
Politics of Australia The politics of Australia operates under the written Australian Constitution, which sets out Australia as a constitutional monarchy, governed via a parliamentary democracy in the Westminster tradition. Australia is also a federation, where pow ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Politics of Norfolk Island