14 Apr 2006

Call by Norfolk group for Australia to give the island a modified form of self government

10:11 am on 14 April 2006

A Norfolk Island group says the island does not have the same aspirations as Australia and should be allowed to maintain a form of self government.

For several years Canberra has been endeavouring to curb Norfolk's independence, saying in February that this is necessary to ensure the island remained solvent.

The Federal Government has given Norfolk two options - one a form of administration similar to the mainland territories, or alternatively, reduce it to local government status.

Wally Beadman, of the Norfolk Action Group, or NAG, says they accept the island needs help, but also accepts it has to raise more of its own money, improve its budgetting and assess its infrastructure requirements.

"And when you put all that together you can come up with a sustainable model for Norfolk which can exist within a self governing model and we are a people that genuinely want and believe we can be self governing and self determining, but do it better than what we have done in the past."