A Loud ‘No’ From Norfolk

From ED HOWARD on Norfolk

Two-thirds of Norfolk Island’s electors have signed declarations stating that they wish the island to remain a distinct and separate Australian Territory with its own system of laws, benefits and taxes.

In a house-to-house poll of re sidents in mid-May, 658 persons sig ned “solemn declarations” choosing between the Island Council's plan for Norfolk’s future government and the plan proposed by the recent Nimmo Royal Commission.

Only 7% of those signing declara tions favoured the Nimmo plan to integrate Norfolk into Australia.

Continued separate status was sup ported by 93% of those signing, who amounted to two-thirds of the is land’s total electoral roll of about 900.

Declarations were signed by 222 direct descendants of the original Pitcairn settlers, 90% of whom op posed the Nimmo plan and sup ported the locally-elected council.

The council has repeatedly re quested Australia to call a referen dum on the issue since the Nimmo Report was tabled in Parliament last November, but Australia so far has refused the requests.

The poll in mid-May was con ducted by 24 Pitcairn descendants.

They gave full-time residents separate declaration sheets headed: “For over 150 years it has been the custom on Pitcairn and then Nor folk Island to decide important questions involving the community by putting these questions to a vote and then abiding by the wish of the majority. In keeping with that custom, I solemnly declare ...”

The two choices offered for sig nature were “I support the Nimmo Report, I wish Norfolk Island to become joined into Australia, and I wish to accept the system of laws, benefits and taxes that applies in Australia”, or “I support the Nor folk Island Council and I wish Nor folk Island to remain a distinct and separate Territory of Australia with its own system of laws, benefits and taxes”.

The result of the poll was an nounced on the island the following day. The senior elected member of the council, Pitcairn descendant William Blucher, said, "The result

completely disproves the notion Canberra seems to have that opposi tion to the Nimmo Report comes only from a few people with vested interests.

"If they don’t believe this, they won’t believe anything,” he added.

The eight elected councillors ap pealed in February to the United Nations to protect the island from being integrated into Australia with out the consent of the residents.

The UN's International Conven tion on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which came into effect in January, 1976, with Australia as one of the 35 countries agreeing to be bound by it, includes as the first article’s first paragraph, “All peoples have the right of self determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.”

Norfolk lost its self-determining political status in 1896, and the is land was handed over to Australia by England in 1914 without the Islanders’ consent.

The Nimmo Report recommends against allowing Norfolk self-deter mination in the proposed inte gration into the Commonwealth.