Norfolk plea to Canberra to restore democracy

Key organisations in Norfolk Island have written to Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, pleading with him to restore good governance and representative democracy.

The Council of Elders, the Chamber of Commerce and the People for Democracy Movement say the removal of the island's autonomy in 2015 was ill-considered, hasty and poorly planned.

The island is attached to the suburban Canberra seat of Bean in the federal parliament, has no state government representation and late last year its local council was suspended.

Council of Elders president, David Buffett, said something similar to what existed in 2015 needed to be brought back.

"There needs to be a Norfolk Island democratic process. In other words an elected representative in, say, both what are presently federal matters, and in the range of state matters, as well as obviously in local matters. And that was the system in play obviously before the five year ago change in governance."

Buffett said the poor quality of government had resulted in the most undemocratic, culturally prejudiced and chaotic governance in the island's history.

The Norfolk Island Regional Council was suspended last December by the assistant minister for Regional Development and Territories, Nola Marino, who said this was on the recommendations of an independent audit of the Council's financial viability and long-term sustainability.

Buffett also said the governance changes by Canberra were underming the island's cultural heritage.

He said the island no longer has a say in the provision of key government services, such as education, policing and health.

"They have been farmed out, for example, to New South Wales and there is now some discussion being held with the Queensland government to farm some out in the Queensland area. But there is no participation by Norfolk Island people in that process, and that is obviously a lack of democracy and in the lack of democracy it means a lessening of our cultural impact in terms of those factors."

Buffett said the move to land taxes is another move undermining Norfolk culture.

The Pitcairn islanders, who were moved to Norfolk by the British Government in 1856, received grants of land.

Now, with property based rates being charged for the first time, Buffett said some people, on unproductive units, are being forced to sell land that has been in their families for generations, in order to pay that tax bill.