The Australian Government welcomes the release of the Commonwealth Grants Commission's report on its 2019 Norfolk Island Inquiry.

As announced in May, the Department asked the Commonwealth Grants Commission (CGC) to undertake a costing of Norfolk Island services and its capacity to raise state and local government revenue.

There is already strong community interest in the upcoming engagement sessions on the Ports Management Strategy, with the Australian Government encouraging Norfolk Island stakeholders to contribute their views on best options for the long-term management of Cascade and Kingston Ports.

Grosvenor Performance Group is managing the development of the strategy. The upcoming on Island consultation sessions commencing September 23 will leverage local expertise and knowledge to explore current issues and potential solutions.

The Australian Government acknowledges the range of views put forward by the Norfolk Island community about proposed traffic law changes and is preparing for further consultation.

The Department has now reviewed the feedback provided through written submissions, with comments focused on the proposed change to the practice of ‘ute tray riding’. 

The Australian Government will commence a second consultation stage in October 2019 to find out more about these concerns and other key issues raised.

There have been changes to criminal justice laws to improve protections for people on Norfolk Island to ensure that the Norfolk Island police and courts have the ability to take action against people who perpetrate abuse or violence.

The new laws update definitions and increase penalties for some sexual offences, including those involving children and young people. They also introduced new sexual offences that deal with adults who are in positions of trust or authority in relation to young people.

The Australian Government assures the Norfolk Island community that biosecurity and pest management procedures were successfully executed following the identification of spiders on equipment for the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development shipped on a regular freight vessel which arrived on July 10.

It was encouraging to see a system working as it should this week. I understand the community concern about this matter and want to highlight this risk was appropriately detected and managed, in line with required procedures.

The Australian Government wants to hear from the Norfolk Island community on best options for the long-term management of Cascade and Kingston Ports.

With reliable and safe port operations essential to the economic wellbeing of the Norfolk Island community, a Ports Management Strategy is being developed by Grosvenor Performance Group.

Current issues and potential solutions will be explored with a wide range of local stakeholders, drawing on the expertise and knowledge of the Norfolk Island community.

Finalisation of the KAVHA Cultural Landscape Management Plan

As Chair of the Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area (KAVHA) Advisory Committee, I thank the Norfolk Island community for their input into the development of the KAVHA Cultural Landscape Management Plan (CLMP).  

The draft CLMP was revised following community feedback and the Plan has now been finalised and publicly released.

The Carr family has requested approval to bring an Assistance Dog to Christmas Island (CI) to provide support and assistance for their teenage son, Luke.

The Australian Government will provide the Norfolk Island community with $210,000 for critical infrastructure to boost the genetic diversity and sustainability of local ruminant livestock.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the funding to the Norfolk Island Cattle Association would provide for a liquid nitrogen plant, generator, portable cattle crush and portable yard fencing to support artificial reproduction for ruminants.

The Australian Government is commencing a capital works project to improve public safety at Longridge Barracks Arches.

The project will also preserve this important heritage structure for the community.

The Longridge Barracks Arches ruins has a lean of up to 200mm to the south and is unrestrained at the rear. Independent safety reports have found that this presents an unacceptable risk of structure collapse in the event of an earthquake.