CONSULTATION PROCESS ON NORFOLK ISLAND REFORMS UNDER WAY

The opening gambits in the process of re-aligning Norfolk Island with Australia began this week. As a member of the Norfolk Island Chamber of Commerce Executive, I participated in a meeting with the Administrator and Commonwealth Officers from Minister Simon Crean’s Department of Regional Development, and from the Department of Finance.
The officers were as professional as you would expect them to be, as familiar with the range of issues as they could be, and as open to input as you could hope they would be.

The meeting provided a useful opportunity to flag a wide range of issues, including, at the top of the list, airline services to Norfolk and the problems of Norfolk Air, the importance of Tourism growth to our economy, the need to pull back Norfolk Island’s involvement in some activities to reduce costs and improve services, particularly in the areas of Health, Social Security/Welfare and Education, and finally, the island’s debt position.
The Commonwealth commitment to regional Australia was emphasized along with the observations that Norfolk Island, in common with many other areas of regional Australia, has much to gain from its re-alignment with the Commonwealth

The immediate focus would appear to be on the here and now. This means addressing the financial position of the Island for the remainder of the financial year 2010/11.
Norfolk has substantial debt, a reduced cash flow and some costly long term commitments. Short term assistance is clearly vital, and the officers we met with acknowledged this necessity. Once they are in full knowledge of the facts of our position, they will brief Minister Crean, presumably prior to the Chief Minister going to Canberra on the 25th Nov.

Any expectation that Norfolk will be assisted to the extent of giving us a clean slate for 2011/2012 without rock solid commitment to long term change i.e. into the Australian Tax and Social Security system, would be delusional given the Australian domestic political situation and the Commonwealth’s current debt position. My words, but the message was clear.
The governance changes expressed in the Territories Reform Bill are important to the process of change and to giving us all renewed confidence in our system of government. The Bill has now been passed by the House of Representatives and is expected to go to the Senate and hopefully be passed by the senate before the weekend.