Norfolk Island Governance and Administration
Norfolk Island is an integral part of the Commonwealth of Australia and has been since 1914 when it was accepted into the Federation as an Australian Territory under section 122 of the Australian National Constitution.
The Federal Parliament enacted the Norfolk Island Act 1979 allowing a considerable degree of self-government for the Island's 2,000 residents. The Act provides for:
- an Administrator to act as the nominal head of the Norfolk Island Government;
- a Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly able to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Territory including laws to raise taxes and impose charges;
- an Executive Council or Ministry drawn from the Legislative Assembly and appointed by the Administrator on the recommendation of the Assembly;
- the Administrator to act on ministerial advice;
- the Norfolk Island Supreme Court and Norfolk Island's system of laws; and
- a Norfolk Island public service.
The Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly has the power to legislate for all things except coinage, the raising of defence forces, the acquisition of property on other than just terms and euthanasia.
This means that the Assembly can enact laws on virtually any topic that it chooses, including on matters that are the preserve of the Federal Government elsewhere (such as customs and immigration). Once the Assembly enacts a law, the Norfolk Island Government is equipped with broad executive powers and responsibilities to administer and enforce that law. The Norfolk Island Government is also primarily responsible for the delivery of government services on the Island.
In the preamble to the Act, the Federal Parliament and Government acknowledged the special relationship between Norfolk Island and Norfolk Islanders of Pitcairn descent and their desire to maintain their traditions and culture.
The Norfolk Island Act establishes the broad framework for Norfolk Island's self-government. The Act itself contains very little by way of specific machinery of government provisions. The intention was that the laws that spell out in detail how the Norfolk Island system of governance will work would generally be laws enacted by the Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly.
Norfolk Island's self-governing status is similar to that of Australia's mainland Territories - the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the Northern Territory (NT). The major difference is that the Norfolk Island Government and Legislative Assembly have greater legislative and executive powers and responsibilities - such as in respect of immigration, customs and quarantine.