Another mutiny for descendants of HMS Bounty crew as Australia plans to end Norfolk Island's self-rule

The Pacific island has been plagued by financial issues for years, and relies heavily on assistance from Canberra

Residents of the remote Pacific island of Norfolk Island, home to descendants of the sailors who launched mutiny on the Bounty, are poised for their own fightback over plans to end its self-rule.

The island has been plagued by financial issues for years, and relies heavily on assistance from Canberra, but many of the islanders are protective of its independence and the island’s chief minister, Lisle Snell, has declared the proposed changes tantamount to a return to “colonial” rule.

The move by the Australian government, announced by assistant minister for Infrastructure and Rural Development Jamie Briggs, will see the island’s parliament abolished and replaced by a regional council, while personal and business taxes will be introduced. The island has self-governed with a four-member government and a parliament of nine people since 1979.

In return, the 1,800 inhabitants will be able to access healthcare and social security benefits. “The infrastructure on Norfolk Island is run down, the health system not up to standard”, Mr Briggs said.

Following the mutiny on the HMS Bounty – which saw Fletcher Christian and the crew seize control of the ship from Captain William Bligh in 1789 – a handful of the mutineers and their Tahitian wives first found refuge on Pitcairn Island, before descendants resettled on Norfolk Island in 1856. The legislation is set to come before the federal parliament next week. In the interim, a five-member community Advisory Council will be established.

Mr Snell called for a vote by the island’s residents on the proposals. Mr Briggs said “extensive consultation” with residents had “revealed overwhelming support for reform”.

But Mr Snell disagreed. “This is a divided community,” he said. “There are people on the island that see the security of social welfare programmes… But there are those... particularly of Pitcairn Island descent, who treasure the self-government status that was bestowed upon them.”

“The regrettable part of this is that the colonial overlord master/servant system will be returned to Norfolk Island,” Mr Snell told ABC radio.