Seismologist Col Lynam of the Royal Geographical Society of Queensland (and also Vice-President of The Royal Society of Queensland) presented on this subject on Friday, 16 August 2024, during a visit to the Island of a group from the Geographical Society, on their GeoTour 2024. View a pdf of the slides of his address here. A larger file with commentary attached to the slides can be viewed here.
The Joint Standing Committee of the National Capital and External Territories (JSC) of the Australian Parliament in November 2023 released its final report on the governance of Norfolk Island. Read the JSC report here. See in particular the seven recommendations:
Recommendation 1
6.112 The Committee recommends that the Norfolk Island Governance Committee incorporate into its terms of reference consideration of the development of a preamble for the establishing legislation that:
recognises the culture, traditions, heritage and history of Norfolk Island;
• defines the nature of the relationship between Norfolk Island and Australia; and
• sets out the shared aspirations for the future direction of the relationship.
Recommendation 2
6.121 The Committee recommends a new bespoke model of local governance for Norfolk Island, to be enacted through Commonwealth legislation after thorough community consultation to define some key aspects of the model.
Recommendation 3
6.127 The Committee recommends that the new governing body include both democratically elected and appointed members with specific expertise in public administration, and that:
• the governing body consist of at least six members;
• a majority of members be elected, with elected members holding the balance of power on the body;
• the appointed positions be reserved for individuals with expertise in relevant matters of public administration, selected via a merit-based process that preferences qualified local community members where possible; and
• capacity building be a key responsibility of the governing body to ensure that more Norfolk Islanders are qualified to hold future governance positions either in the governing body or local administration, and in the procurement of goods and services by the administration.
Recommendation 4
6.132 The Committee recommends that the Norfolk Island community have a say in the governing body, including that:
• the recommendations contained in this report be referred to the Norfolk Island Governance Committee for further consultation and refinement;
• this consultation and refinement result in a model that includes a clearly defined preamble for the establishing legislation, the size of the governing body, the specific expertise required by this governing body, and the revenue models to be incorporated into the establishing legislation; and
• a binding, compulsory vote of registered voters on Norfolk Island is required to approve the final model determined by the Norfolk Island Governance Committee.
Recommendation 5
6.134 The Committee recommends that the first elections for the new governing body should be held prior to December 2024.
Recommendation 6
6.138 The Committee recommends that the governing body be adaptive and supportive of the unique local history and identity of Norfolk Island, and that:
• the new Commonwealth legislation contain the form of the preamble developed by the Norfolk Island Governance Committee; and
• the legislation contain provisions for periodic review to ensure that the governing body is adaptable and can meet the future needs and interests of both Norfolk Island and Australia.
Recommendation 7
6.145 The Committee recommends that the responsibilities of the new governing body and the mechanism for local input into Commonwealth and State responsibilities be clearly defined following the restoration of local democracy on Norfolk Island, including that:
• to ensure Commonwealth and State services meet local needs—the governing body should have a formal advisory role in relation to education, health, population strategy, heritage management, biosecurity, sea-freight and tourism;
• the management of key historical sites of cultural importance to the local community be subject to joint management between the Commonwealth and the local community; and
• these matters be incorporated into the terms of reference of the Norfolk Island Governance Committee for further local consultation and refinement.
This slim self-published volume, printed by Photopress International on Norfolk Island, has not been registered in the National Library of Australia. It follows an unusual style, being part memoir, part reflective and part fiction. It ends with high praise of Norfolk Island as a place where the restless author “Crystal Allan” finally found peace. Author long-term resident Louise Menadue.
Professor Sarah Baker of Griffith University and Dr Zelmarie Cantillon have been running a project called “Reimagining Norfolk Island’s KAVHA” and funded by the Australian Research Council. It has been based on interviews and workshops and involves the publication of e-zines.
This project analyses how cultural injustices are reinforced or resisted within KAVHA as a living heritage site. Specifically, the researchers focus on Pitcairn Settler descendants’ relationships with Daun’taun, as well as that of other residents who have long and deep connections to the area, and their experience of heritage management in KAVHA. In addition to scholarly writing (e.g. peer-reviewed articles), the researchers aim to capture these relationships in “zines”.
The zines in this series are a form of public history and community archiving, enabling people to tell their stories on their own terms. The zines are a way to facilitate the sharing of memories, experiences, feelings and local knowledge. This isn’t about creating a definitive history of the subject at hand. Instead, the zines in this series provide a space where multiple voices can appear together, recording the emotional resonance of the past. As such, the zines are forms of heritage activism which emphasise the democratisation of history-making.
Their website https://reimaginingkavha.com/zines/explains the project.
Their scholarly article “Zines as community archive” was published in the journal Archival Science in February 2022. (This article is re-published here under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence).
Their first zine, “See You at the Paradise” (19.4MB), was published in September 2021, the second, “Mais Daun’taun Vol. 1” (19.1MB), in December 2021 and the third, “Mais Daun’taun Vol. 2” (352.5MB) in April 2022.
The research team acknowledges the Pitcairn Settler descendants as the custodians of the land on which the project takes place. We pay respect to the Elders, past and present, and extend that respect to all Norfolk Island people.
