The month of May

Where do I start - first my apologies to anyone who has visited my site and found no activity since November.  So much has happened since then, I hardly know where to start.  The main thing for me is that I have taken to using facebook.  I find it quicker and easier to deal with as part of my busy schedule.
Politically we are in for big changes...this week will see our budget formed and the report on the submissions to the Road Map released.  If you wish to continue following events that are relevant to Norfolk Island and her future please visit me on facebook.  Melissa Ward

A little premature

There has been call for a public meeting with the Chief Minister.  I understand that David Buffett was willing to listen to those interested but that he would have very little to contribute at this stage.  The majority of the  community  understands that it is no longer a question of, if things will change, it is now a question of managing change.  The question of whether there will be  reform or not, has been answered - yes there will be, there is no other way.  Full stop.  The next stage is occurring; that is, a Cwlth officer assessment of our financial position and the passage of the Territories Law Reform Bill through both Houses of Parliament.  Until both of these things happen and our position is reported back to Minister Simon Crean, there is no going forward.  So, to have a public meeting this week is somewhat premature.  Ministers Buffett & Anderson meet Crean on November 25 - wish them well and listen when they return.  If you feel you would like to have input - do so.  Butchers paper or envelopes  welcome!

Matter of public importance

Last Wednesday was an interesting day in the House - that is, the Norfolk Island Parliament.  The Chief Minister David Buffett made an announcement that spells a new chapter for Norfolk.  The local government will now support the passage of the Territories Law Reform Bill in the Federal Parliament and Norfolk will participate in the mainland tax and social security systems.  Participation in federal funding, grants and programs will become 'as of right'.  This move by both governments will ensure that Norfolk Islanders will have a long term future, one where everyone will be treated equally, with other Australian citizens.  The TLR Bill doesn't remove self government, it reinforces our ability to determine our own management but we must lift our game and do better, and we can.  There is much work to be done in sorting out the details and then the finer details. Finance, taxation and economics - what fun!   Immigration, social welfare, land rates and seat belts are points of concern and I will attempt to address those, and others, as we move along.  Ministers will meet in Canberra on November 25 and there should be some detail to report on December 1.

Dark ages in the sunshine.

A couple of weeks ago in the Norfolk Islander newspaper, Martin Snell wrote an article about the positive attributes of fibre optic networks - and who could disagree?  Martin believed that some members of the Assembly were moving to block the commitment made by the previous government to SPIN.  Happily, Martin is my neighbour and so I gave him a call and we discussed the matter.  Firstly, the Government remains committed to the SPIN project.  The project would deliver fibre optic Internet technology to the island.  Whether or not the company responsible for delivery delivers, is another matter and understandably out of our immediate control. 
The question that I have raised is no different to the Liberal v Labor National Broadband Network question being played out on mainland Australia. (A program which we are not included in.)
On being elected to the Assembly and being able to "get some answers" it appears that there is no business plan to accompany the commitment.  There appear to be some vague commitment made by Telecom NZ and there is unsecured projected gaming revenue that I do not believe will result in an amount  needed to "pay for" SPIN.  So - where will the money come from?  No one wants to talk about that.  If you are a country of 20 million people with billions of dollars worth of natural resources, then even without a business plan, you have a cushion.  Norfolk Island does not have that luxury.  I understand that the previous government took a gamble, we have to be prepared to deal with the shortfall in funds while we pray that the gamble pays off, and it may.  It would be foolish however, to think that 700 working people will be able to pull this off without some pain.  I believe that my role as a Member of the Assembly is to highlight and debate issues, not blindly follow the leader - and the other 8 Members would expect no less!  Please feel free to contribute and I thank Martin for putting pen to paper, and even better - his name.

Planning for the future of the next generation

There is a saying that "Norfolk Island will become a millionaire's paradise" -
If the millionaires were to be young Norfolk Islanders, then we may be in for a bright future, however unfortunately, that is not the inference of the quote.
On the 15th of July, the Minister for Finance, Craig Anderson, wrote to the Federal Minister, Brendon O'Connor, providing him with Budget information and a picture of how he viewed Norfolk's financial position into the future.
The Minister suggests that Norfolk needs to pay a contribution to the Cwlth in order to obtain funding and grants to pay for the delivery of services to the people.  The Minister has acknowledged the impossibility of the situation; that is for the small working population and the tourism industry to support the expectations of a modern, isolated community.  It is now clear that the inability of our government to participate in natioal partnership programs, as of right, is detrimental to our economy and our best interests.  Minister Anderson and this government has called for a joint task force to consider contribution options.  When options are put and dialogue begins, it is the role of this government and its officers to ensure that changes will be workable and that the community is informed and aware of how changes will affect them so we do not see baseless fear campaigns begin.
When I stood for the election I made it very clear that I was asking for a mandate to facilitate real change to the current fiscal arrangements, with the co-operation of the Cwlth.  I said we must make changes, not because we are in financial difficulty but because it is the responsibility of government to plan for the future.  If we debate this issue in the community, and I hope we do, we should keep two things very separate in our minds - on one hand there is self government and our heritage and on the other hand is taxation and economics.  Governance and taxation should be seen as two entirely differnet things.  Financial sustainability is the question.  How do we retain the very essence of our existance and at the same time move ahead?
This community is looking  for leadership and as the Chief Minister said in his campaign, we must sort out the finances, until we do that we can't do much -
This government is taking that lead and endorsing the need to address changes that must be made.  I thank the Minister for finance and the entire government for taking this step in the right direction for us all and I would certainly join their quest and assist in anyway I can.  Please feel free to add your comments and ideas on what you would like to see put on the table and considered.

Government Ownership of business

Some will argue that government should be asking the question -

 “how can the government assist current business development and future business investment?”

I will suggest that it is unfortunate that governments before us have gone as far as they have in becoming the business sector of the island and that new Government must investigate a roll back of that development.  If not, we continue down the current path of government controlled business activity. That path would provide zero opportunity for future business investment and growth in big business. I suggest that this community will not continue to accept the government tactic of coercive monopoly. The community becomes resentful when they understand they are not getting value for money and are forced to accept sub-standard  product and service.  Government objective should be service and delivery of a quality product – provided by the business community, regulated via legislation that protects employees, consumer rights and taxes profit.  Continuing to follow the same game plan will not provide confidence to those who are looking for future business development opportunities, particularly in the area of the internet.

The debate must be had - should there be privatization of government infrastructure or should the government maintain and develop monopoly structures?  If the government is to maintain current levels of business activity then efficiencies must be made and business plans and programs must be tabled and published.

Reflections - shopping

Something that is probably unique to Norfolk is the number of jobs that the average person works. There are differing views as to why this occurs so much here on the island; some say it is because there are not enough people to do all the jobs needed and so we work more than one job, others will argue that one is forced to work more than one job to pay basic living costs. I know people in both baskets. I sometimes do an extra job - honestly, because I am helping out a friend. That is what we do here. The lady I help out occasionally is Di and she owns a gorgeous gift shop in the main street. I say a gift shop but of course it is much more; there are books, scarves, incense, quilting material, crystals and stones. Sometimes Donna helps Di and both gals are great for a chat while you are having difficulty choosing your tumble stones! For me as a public representative it is a good chance to talk to locals I don't see often enough and with visitors to seek their views about the island. It might be something about Reflections, the positive aura the shop exudes, but everyone who crosses the door step is so nice!  www.norfolkonline is running a poll this week that asks - is the shopping on Norfolk good for locals, visitors or neither.  There was no "both" option.  I always shop locally and find great stuff.  If we are serious about helping our economy we must.  I suggest that everyone takes a walk through Burnt Pine every so often to realize what our local shops have.  You might be pleasantly surprised.  P.S.  Never go into debt to buy what you don't need.