WHAT HARBOUR DESIGN REPORT?

A major failing of successive Norfolk Island Governments has been in the procurement of goods and services,  a weakness alluded to in both the Review of the Norfolk Island Public Service and the ACIL Tasman Report on the Economic Development of Norfolk Island.

An unfortunate aspect of this for Norfolk Island is the ease with which these shortcomings can be hidden.

Norfolk lacks the robust form of parliamentary protection afforded other States, Territories and the Commonwealth;  we lack a serious press that can expose wrongdoing;  and  we lack an effective solution to ineffective government when all else fails.

An example of the NIG's inability to effectively manage its affairs lies in the harbour facilities design work commissioned by the Nobbs government.

Many will recall that the government of the 12th Assembly engaged the engineering firm, Worley Parsons,  to do some design work on an improved harbour facility for Norfolk. It appears that $124,000 has been expended on the project and still no report of any kind appears to have found its way into the public domain.  This has not been for lack of trying on the part of at least one MLA.  Ms. Ward has asked a number of questions of Minister Nobbs over almost two years in an effort to get the report released but all to no avail.

The ACIL Tasman report on Economic Development for Norfolk Island, and many other reports over the years have emphasised the need to improve our port facilities. The Worley Parsons report can potentially add some momentum to the resolution of this problem, but only if it gets out into the open and talked about. 

There is some speculation as to why the report has not yet surfaced. Some suggest it is because Worley Parsons have not been paid, others suggest that the report is of minimal value and essentially a waste of $124,000.  Whatever the reason or reasons if the work is to have any value in assisting progress towards improved infrastructure for the island, it must be released immediately.

New Policies Set to Boost Norfolk Island tourism

New policies announced this week by the Norfolk Island Government have the potential to take Norfolk Island to another level in tourism.
Strong protectionist policies supported by island legislation have up till now contributed to an ageing of the island's accommodation stock and done little to encourage innovation in tourism product with no real way of overcoming the problem.
Restrictions on "foreign" ownership have effectively prevented any major tourism players from investing on Norfolk Island and have meant that little has been done to bring properties up to national or international standards.
Those restrictions are to be removed. New strategies aimed at capturing higher yield tourists are being developed and these should assist Norfolk Island to once again become a highly favoured tourist destination.

In common with many tourism destinations in the Australia and the Pacific, Norfolk Island has been under extreme pressure, with falling tourist numbers, increasing costs and a crippling air services contract all combining to take Norfolk Island to brink of insolvency.

The Australian Government has provided substantial funds to assist Norfolk Island, including the funds necessary to extricate the island's Government from the unfavourable air services contract with Our Airline (Nauru), and to sign up and underwrite Air New Zealand to the route.

In providing the funds the Australian Government has insisted that the Norfolk Island Government commit to a wide rangeing suite of reforms aimed at stimulating the island's economy. Reforms include dispensing with competition and immigration barriers to encourage investment and to increase and diversify the skills of the island's population.

In a very real sense the perception is that the brakes are coming off Norfolk Island's economy and while tourism will remain the principal industry for the forseeable future, locals are hoping that a broader economy can develop on the back of the growth that the new policies will drive.

From the day the new policies were announced enquiries have been coming in. It's clear that there are investors out there looking for opportunities and Norfolk Island may be just the ticket. For full details go to;
info.gov.nf