“I was told, rather bluntly, by a long-suffering islander to do exactly what the department back in Canberra clearly expected of me, namely either get on the grog or go fishing or, preferably, do both,” says JON STANHOPE, a rueful former administrator of Christmas Island. 

IN a refreshing change in long-standing practice the new Commonwealth Territories Minister, Kristy McBain, has called for expressions of interest from anyone interested in appointment as administrator of either Norfolk Island and/or Christmas and the Cocos (Keeling) islands.

This nod to an open and merit-based process is, of course, to be applauded.

However, in the interests of openness, I declare I was the beneficiary of a process of appointment, by a previous Labor government, that eschewed any such process and resulted in my appointment in 2012 as administrator of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. 

It transpired I had suffered a grave misconception when I gratefully accepted the role of administrator. I assumed it was a real job and that, from 9 to 5, five days a week, I would be engaged in the day-to-day administration of the two territories. 

I also assumed I’d be the point of contact between the residents of the islands and the Department of Regional Development back in Canberra. And also that in my role I would, for example, marshal the views of the residents and convey them to the responsible public servants who would develop draft policy and expenditure proposals for my consideration and, as a basis of consultation, with residents. Silly me.

My views about the nature of the appointment were undoubtedly coloured by my experience a couple of decades earlier as official secretary and deputy administrator of Norfolk Island, which was in fact, a real job. 

There was, of course, a major difference in the governance arrangements of Norfolk Island and those of the Indian Ocean territories, most notably that Norfolk Island was, at the time, self-governing and so its residents enjoyed fundamental democratic rights that those of Christmas and the Cocos Islands were then and are still denied. 

Sadly, residents of Norfolk Island now also have virtually no say in the governance of their community following the bizarre, egregious and lazy decision of all three of the major parties, in 2015, to abolish self-government. 

As an aside, I have (tongue in cheek) urged my deeply outraged friends and colleagues on Norfolk Island to invite the Chinese ambassador to inspect their quality of democracy in the hope that China might sponsor a motion, at the UN, on the depths of Australia’s shameless hypocrisy in respect to the democratic rights of the citizens of its external territories.

As things stand, residents of Hong Kong arguably have more democratic rights than Norfolk Islanders and clearly more than the residents of Christmas and the Cocos Islands.

My confusion and concern about the limited role ascribed by the department to me as administrator reached a point that I made an appointment with the minister, who following a change of government early in my appointment, was Jamie Briggs, to air my concerns. 

At the heart of my concern was that the Administration Ordinances of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands charge the administrator with responsibility for the peace, order and good government and administration of each of the territories. 

I advised the minister that I was concerned that, because neither I nor the residents of the territories were involved in any decision making in relation to the governance of the territories, that the Administration Ordinances were, in my view, almost certainly being routinely breached. 

I asked the minister to seek the views of the Attorney-General’s Department or the Government Solicitor on the proper interpretation of the Administration Ordinance and the role of the administrator. 

Minister Briggs acceded and in due course, I travelled to Canberra to be briefed on the advice only to be told, upon arrival at the department, that it had been decided to neither brief me on nor make the advice available for my perusal.

I recall I responded by saying that considering the refusal to provide me with the advice, I didn’t need to read it to know what it said.

After returning to Christmas Island from this fruitless visit, while lazing on the beach at Flying Fish Cove with friends Robyn and I had made, I lamented about this sorry situation and asked for advice on what I should do. 

I was told, rather bluntly, by a long-suffering islander to do exactly what the department back in Canberra clearly expected of me, namely either get on the grog or go fishing or, preferably, do both.

My point is that if you are by any chance thinking of expressing interest in appointment as administrator of Christmas and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, it might be wise to ask for a detailed and independent briefing on the Christmas Island Administration Ordinance before proceeding.

More seriously, how is it we all have our knickers in such a furious knot about the denial of the residents of the ACT and the NT a right to legislate in relation to a single issue, namely euthanasia, yet greet with silence and disinterest the fact that thousands of proud Australian citizens on Christmas, the Cocos (Keeling) and Norfolk islands are denied a say in the governance and administration of their communities. What appalling hypocrisy.