Sydneyfan
18 Jan 2002, 14:54
I was just wondering about the motives behind Norfolk Island's recent proposal to ban HIV postive, or Hepitatis B or C carriers from entering the island. Whether it is purely out of medical issues they are worried about and possible misinformation they have received about the risks of contracting these diseases, or whether there is more to the story than what appears?
Yesterday, it was announced that the Norfolk Island Government Assembly will discuss next month whether HIV positive, or Hepitatis B or C carriers will be banned from living or visting the island. This motion has been proposed by Legislative Assembly member John Brown, claiming that the island does not have adequate medical faciilities to cater for people suffering from these diseases. If this measure is passed it will be an amendment to the 1980 Norfolk Island Immigration Act.
The announcement has been suprising given that it is now 2002 and that a vast amount of information has been gathered on these diseases and their risks to others. This has been widely criticised by Government and Health officials as well as others as being discriminatory. Norfolk Island is a semi-autonomous external territory of Australia which does have its own Government, however the Australian Federal Government has the ability to over-rule any decision made in the Norfolk Island Government, which is likely in this scenario if the Norfolk Island Government were to vote in favour of this proposal.
What I have been wondering is whether this is just a cunning ploy by the Norfolk Islanders to test the Australian Government in regards to their own Government and their want for an independent state, or whether the Norfolk Islanders are genuinely concerned about not letting HIV and Hepitatis B or C carriers onto the island? The conspiracy theorist in me believes that there could be more to this than what it seems!
About a year ago I was interested in learning more about Pitcairn Island, that tiny spec in the middle of the South Pacific which was and still is populated mostly by descendants of Bounty mutineers and their Polynesian partners. In learning about Pitcairn I also learnt a bit about Norfolk Island history.
Norfolk Island was twice established as a penal colony and then abandoned, and in 1856 Pitcairn Islanders (Pitcairn was a British territroy, it's now a New Zealand territory) were persuaded by the British to re-locate on Norfolk Island due to overcrowding on Pitcairn, being told that Queen Victoria were granting them Norfolk as a gift after hearing of their remarkable history, being the decendants of the mutineers and their partners. As a result they all moved from Pitcairn to Norfolk, though later some Pitcairners returned to Pitcairn due to homesickness and now 50 people still live on Pitcairn.
Norfolk Island was self-governed until 1896 when the colony of New South Wales took over. At this time NSW requested Great Britain to proclaim Norfolk Island as a full territory of Australia but this was never granted. The majority of Norfolk Islanders still do not recognise their island as a territory of Australia and some go as strongly as saying Australia has committed a bloodless genocide on the Pitcairners of Norfolk Island.
The Pitcairners are descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Polynesian partners. They retain their own language and customs and are recognised as a distinct ethnic group, though not by the Australian Government. In the last Norfolk Island Census, 46.8% of Islanders were of Pitcairn descent. English is the official language though Pitcairn is widely spoken on the island.
As a result of the past, and the Pitcairners belief that they have been wronged several times by the Australian Government, there has been strong efforts by the Norfolk Islanders for nationhood. In 1979, Australia passed the Norfolk Island Act, which provided the framework of Norfolk Island's current political and administrative structure. Promised at the time that within 5 years, the Government of the island be afforded the many powers retained by Australia, but this promise remains unfulfilled to this day.
Which leads me to wonder whether this current announcement on the proposed change to the island's Immigration Act is just a stunt to try and test the Australian Government. To see how far they can go in seeking independance from Australia, and that maybe this is a sign of more to come until the Australian Government folds in and grants the island independance.
For the record, Norfolk Island has a permanent population of just under 2,000 and its Import figures were $17.9 million and its Export figures were $1.5 million in 1991. Financially, it would be more beneficial for the Norfolk Islanders to remain a part of Australia, though I have no problems with Norfolk Island becoming independent if they wish to do so.
Hope I haven't bored you all with this long post but I found it interesting, thinking whether the Norfolk Island have any ulterior motives in their current announcement.
Here's a link to an interesting site on Norfolk Island culture and history from an Islander's perspective: http://www.pitcairners.org/index.htm
Yesterday, it was announced that the Norfolk Island Government Assembly will discuss next month whether HIV positive, or Hepitatis B or C carriers will be banned from living or visting the island. This motion has been proposed by Legislative Assembly member John Brown, claiming that the island does not have adequate medical faciilities to cater for people suffering from these diseases. If this measure is passed it will be an amendment to the 1980 Norfolk Island Immigration Act.
The announcement has been suprising given that it is now 2002 and that a vast amount of information has been gathered on these diseases and their risks to others. This has been widely criticised by Government and Health officials as well as others as being discriminatory. Norfolk Island is a semi-autonomous external territory of Australia which does have its own Government, however the Australian Federal Government has the ability to over-rule any decision made in the Norfolk Island Government, which is likely in this scenario if the Norfolk Island Government were to vote in favour of this proposal.
What I have been wondering is whether this is just a cunning ploy by the Norfolk Islanders to test the Australian Government in regards to their own Government and their want for an independent state, or whether the Norfolk Islanders are genuinely concerned about not letting HIV and Hepitatis B or C carriers onto the island? The conspiracy theorist in me believes that there could be more to this than what it seems!
About a year ago I was interested in learning more about Pitcairn Island, that tiny spec in the middle of the South Pacific which was and still is populated mostly by descendants of Bounty mutineers and their Polynesian partners. In learning about Pitcairn I also learnt a bit about Norfolk Island history.
Norfolk Island was twice established as a penal colony and then abandoned, and in 1856 Pitcairn Islanders (Pitcairn was a British territroy, it's now a New Zealand territory) were persuaded by the British to re-locate on Norfolk Island due to overcrowding on Pitcairn, being told that Queen Victoria were granting them Norfolk as a gift after hearing of their remarkable history, being the decendants of the mutineers and their partners. As a result they all moved from Pitcairn to Norfolk, though later some Pitcairners returned to Pitcairn due to homesickness and now 50 people still live on Pitcairn.
Norfolk Island was self-governed until 1896 when the colony of New South Wales took over. At this time NSW requested Great Britain to proclaim Norfolk Island as a full territory of Australia but this was never granted. The majority of Norfolk Islanders still do not recognise their island as a territory of Australia and some go as strongly as saying Australia has committed a bloodless genocide on the Pitcairners of Norfolk Island.
The Pitcairners are descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Polynesian partners. They retain their own language and customs and are recognised as a distinct ethnic group, though not by the Australian Government. In the last Norfolk Island Census, 46.8% of Islanders were of Pitcairn descent. English is the official language though Pitcairn is widely spoken on the island.
As a result of the past, and the Pitcairners belief that they have been wronged several times by the Australian Government, there has been strong efforts by the Norfolk Islanders for nationhood. In 1979, Australia passed the Norfolk Island Act, which provided the framework of Norfolk Island's current political and administrative structure. Promised at the time that within 5 years, the Government of the island be afforded the many powers retained by Australia, but this promise remains unfulfilled to this day.
Which leads me to wonder whether this current announcement on the proposed change to the island's Immigration Act is just a stunt to try and test the Australian Government. To see how far they can go in seeking independance from Australia, and that maybe this is a sign of more to come until the Australian Government folds in and grants the island independance.
For the record, Norfolk Island has a permanent population of just under 2,000 and its Import figures were $17.9 million and its Export figures were $1.5 million in 1991. Financially, it would be more beneficial for the Norfolk Islanders to remain a part of Australia, though I have no problems with Norfolk Island becoming independent if they wish to do so.
Hope I haven't bored you all with this long post but I found it interesting, thinking whether the Norfolk Island have any ulterior motives in their current announcement.
Here's a link to an interesting site on Norfolk Island culture and history from an Islander's perspective: http://www.pitcairners.org/index.htm