HE JUST DOESN'T GET IT Poor old iron bar Tuckey, it seems the older he gets
the more difficult it is for him to tolerate any opposition. As the Federal
Minister for territories, he has responsibility for Norfolk Island. The
folk on the island, many the descendants of the Bounty mutineers (men and
women who were transferred from Pitcairn Island to Norfolk in the 1850's)
have run into a little bit of trouble dealing with the minister. It seems
he wants to make his mark on the islanders by unilaterally changing the
relationship between them and the Commonwealth. As a territory, Norfolk
Island has a great deal of autonomy. It has its own flag, national anthem,
sends its own team to the Olympics and has its own elected assembly that
has a great deal of power as far as local affairs are concerned. It seems
that Iron Bar Tuckey is concerned that Norfolk Island is becoming an
economic backwater and the government needs to pull out all stops to drag
the two and a half thousand residents into the "real" world. Something
Norfolk Islanders have been resisting for decades, believing quite rightly
that their unique way of life will disappear if they embrace what is
laughingly termed the real world. Tuckey and his department believe they
have stumbled on the reason why investors are not willing to invest in the
island. It seems that the government of the day can be loyally brought down
by a citizen initiated referendum. If the local assembly decides to ignore
the voters wishes and go off on their own tangent because Iron Bar and the
boys and girls in the department are leaning on them, the people through a
Citizen Initiated Referendum can dump the old assembly and elect a new
assembly that reflects the will of the people. No wonder Iron Bar and the
Howard government are concerned. If the mainlander's got hold of this idea,
their tenure would be very limited. Imagine what could happen every time a
government decided to divide its election promises into core and non-core
promises, once elected into office. It wouldn't be a pretty sight. It
wouldn't take long before a citizen initiated referendum was held and those
governments that forget they are in power to serve the people, not rule
them, would find themselves out of office. No wonder Howard and his cronies
are so keen to reform the Norfolk Island local assembly.
http://www.ainfos.ca/ainfos16392.html
