Norfolk Island is in crisis, but is anyone in Australia listening?

NORFOLK Island is in crisis, with Canberra threatening to dissolve its self-governing status. But what would happen to this tiny territory?

Kingston

IT’S Australia’s only self-governing offshore territory.

But Canberra is trying to dissolve its remaining powers of independence.

Now the people of tiny Norfolk Island are fighting back — but have they any hope?

The island used to be a tourist haven, but has struggled since the GFC.

Representatives of the territory, which has a population of just 2000, have taken a petition to Parliament House.

They are demanding to be consulted on their future, and want the various options to be costed.

But the end could be nigh for the little island’s autonomy.

The territory was plunged into crisis after the GFC, and by 2012, a collapse in tourism dollars had left it insolvent, Fairfax media reported.

The island’s leaders reluctantly allowed the federal government to take back some control in exchange for financial support.

The parliament buildings from where a small legislative assembly governs the island.

Canberra pumped $40,000 dollars into Norfolk Island’s economy, but it was not enough to keep it afloat.

Homes and businesses were abandoned, the local airline was grounded and islanders ineligible for Australian unemployment benefits could not afford to live.

A quarter of the island’s population has left since the economic downturn, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Now Canberra wants to abolish the self-governance that has been in place for 35 years.

Sheep farmer Ron Nobbs on his Norfolk Island property.

“We find it totally unacceptable,” chief minister Lisle Snell told news.com.au.

“We’ve had no meaningful consultation, no costings and no alternative model.

“We realise there have to be some changes ... all we’re asking for is a fair say on our future.”

The proposed changes could mean people are forced to leave their island home.

Residents do not currently pay an income tax, but do pay a 12 per cent GST. The federal government wants to bring it under Australia’s tax system, but has been warned that it would be a “complex exercise” to extend the system to the island.

The island’s flag depicts its iconic pines.

Author and longtime resident Colleen McCullough previously told Fairfax media that Canberra’s attitude to Norfolk Island was “horrible and cold-blooded” and that its cash-poor residents would not be able to live there if they had to pay income tax.

Tourists used to flock to the former penal settlement to visit its convict-era buildings and world heritage sites.

The duty-free shops of its “Golden Mile” commercial centre Burnt Pine were a hit with visitors, but more recently, every other building in the area is up for sale, the NZ Herald reported.

Many locals now depend on charity food parcels, with some resorting to hunting wild chickens.

And it looks unlikely they will regain their former prosperity any time soon.

Former Norfolk Island Chief Minister David Buffett in Canberra.

A spokesperson for the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development told news.com.au: “The Australian Government is committed to extending federal taxation and social security to Norfolk Island to ensure that Australian citizens on Norfolk Island have the same rights and responsibilities as in other parts of Australia.

“As part of this process, the Australian Government is also considering reforms to Norfolk Island’s governance to address serious problems with the existing arrangements, improve the sustainability of government services and strengthen the local economy.

“The Australian Government will now consult the Norfolk Island community on the Committee’s recommendations, with the Norfolk Island Administrator to lead a series of public forums.

“Consultation is expected to continue until December 2014 and the Australian Government is expected to respond to the Committee’s report early in 2015.”

Tourists paddle through “The Arch” in the South Pacific seas off the island.