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.

Territiories Law Reform Bill 2010

The following is a part of debate when I spoke in response to the Chief Minister, Hon. David Buffett's statement in the House about the engagement of the lobbyist firm Crosby Textor. 

The decision to engage Crosby Textor directly relates to the proposed introduction of the Territories Law Reform Bill.  The Bill proposes to amend the NI Act and cement some already existing practices into place. The Federal government has committed to protecting every Australian citizen’s human rights under international law and so this review of their own legislation is well over due. 

The vast majority of residents understand we need change.  I ask this government to be forward thinking and make every effort to find opportunity if the Bill is passed. There is a lot of work to be done in drafting regulations that provide clarification and guidelines. I trust this government would endeavor to support the relevant officer’s in developing and agreeing to sensible regulations. This is a direction that would benefit us all in the long term. 

A clause that may concern some people is the governor general’s ability to dissolve the assembly if it is incapable of effectively performing its functions or is conducting its affairs in a grossly improper manner.  That would be a very serious situation and it could occur, however, within 36 – 95 days after dissolution, a general election would be called.  This could be viewed as very disruptive but it gives the people an avenue to protest, at a higher level, against the performance of the Assembly.

In the financial area, the Cwlth is moving in a direction that will assist in protecting all residents.  If the Law reform bill is passed, mechanisms will be set in place that will allow this Assembly and the Commonwealth to identify challenges and put procedures in place to assist with economic development.  There is a need for the Commonwealth to be able to monitor our ways and their own, and with that information – better consider where we need to ensure that infrastructure development progresses, in a measured way and ensure that a stable economic future can be achieved.

The clause in the Bill relating to the Appeals Tribunal, the Freedom of Information and Privacy provisions, which propose to include Norfolk into the Commonwealth arrangements is of concern, not because these facilities should not be available to us, they should, but the cost of providing these services to the community is my concern. Any move by the Commonwealth that would in turn create a further cost burden is a real concern right now and for the future and I would like clarification but it shouldn’t stop us from achieving the best for this community in terms of equal rights and opportunity.

To actively lobby against the Bill because of a fear of the unknown or a fundamental believe that full self government must be achieved at any cost  is not a view I share.  Minister Brendan O’Connor commended this Bill to the Parliament in Canberra, the same Minister that this government is seeking short-term financial assistance from.  What our government has trouble appreciating is that the Cwlth govt is trying to help and that this Bill is a fundamental step in the process.   

This is the first step to work towards creating a more robust form of self-government and hopefully addressing the burden of 103 scheduled responsibilities.  Responsibility and transparency may make some people feel uncomfortable - but it is necessary to preserve democracy. The Joint Standing Committee has recommended a review of Sched 2&3.  I am especially interested in this area because the number and level of responsibility we are trying to administer, is a major concern and some serious consultation with the Federal Minister on this matter should be a priority.

If the Bill is passed then we carry on and find opportunity to improve, however, we are still far from solving all our problems.  The amended Norfolk Island Act will  provide us with a revised platform from which to work from.  Financial reforms are sure to follow governance reforms.  My guess is, this will take time.  Feel free to share your views...and as Mary once said to Chelsea - remember that we all have diverse views; we live together and must treat each other with respect.  

The population debate

My first debate was with Gordon Duvall (resident geologist), at age 13. Gordon argued that Norfolk Island could sustain a population of 10 000, I argued (in my wisdom) zero growth. The bizarre part is that almost 30 years later, I'm a Legislative Assembly representative on the Immigration Committee. How the island is to deal with immigration and population into the future is an issue this Government must deal with and we are not alone. Currently the island controls its immigration law and policy and I think this ability to control, is a power we should retain.  Feel free to share your views.

The World of Norfolk Politics

My aim is to do two things at once; welcome you to participate and comment on issues happening here on Norfolk Island and to highlight and promote the peaceful yet vibrant island community I live in. We love to debate here on the island and I hope you will join us. We debate politics, fishing rights, teachers' salaries, immigration and the price of air tickets. Whether you live here, have been here or are thinking of coming here...join me. The photo is of Emily Bay, early on an Autumn morning.