Aboriginal Shire of Palm Island explained

Type:lga
Aboriginal Shire of Palm Island
State:qld
Image Upright:0.81
Pop:2098
Area:69.3
Est:1986
Seat:Palm Island
Mayor:Mislam Sam
Region:North Queensland
Logo Upright:0.9
Url:https://www.palmcouncil.qld.gov.au/
Stategov:Townsville
Fedgov:Herbert
Near-N:Coral Sea
Near-Ne:Coral Sea
Near-E:Coral Sea
Near-Se:Coral Sea
Near-S:Coral Sea
Near-Sw:Coral Sea
Near-W:Hinchinbrook
Near-Nw:Coral Sea

The Aboriginal Shire of Palm Island is a special local government area of Queensland, Australia, managed by the Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council under a Deed of Grant in Trust granted to the community on 27 October 1986. The local council was previously the Palm Island Community Council, which had far fewer powers. The shire is located on the Palm Island group, off the north Queensland coast near the city of Townsville.

Ten of the twelve Islands in the Greater Palm Island Group come under the control of the Shire – Palm Island, Fantome Island, Curacoa Island, Havannah Island, Brisk Island, Esk Island, Falcon Island, Eclipse Island, Barber Island, Fly Island – plus a few rocks (Dido Rock, Hayman Rock, Chilcott Rocks, Paluma Rock), but neither Orpheus Island nor Pelorus Island, are within its borders,[1] [2] [3] and Albino Rock belongs to Orpheus Island National Park.[4]

At the local government elections on 28 March 2020,[5] a new mayor, Mislam Sam, was elected.[6]

In the, the Aboriginal Shire of Palm Island had a population of 2,098 people.

History

The path to self-governance

After the Land Act (Aboriginal and Islander Land Grants) Amendment Act 1982[7] had established a system for granting a Deed of Grant in Trust (DOGIT) rather than land title to Indigenous councils, the Community Services (Aborigines) Act 1984 (Qld) was effected in order to transfer land currently under the administration of the Queensland Government to locally elected Aboriginal councils, giving Aboriginal councils powers and responsibilities similar to other local governments in Queensland.

On 30 March 1985, the Palm Island Aboriginal Council, with five councillors elected by the community, was established. Under the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (Land Holding) Act 1985,[8] Palm Island was among the first DOGITs received. It meant that the new autonomous Council would hold a perpetual lease over the former Aboriginal reserve lands on Great Palm Island and the ten surrounding islands of the group.[9]

The council area was transferred on 27 October 1986 to the trusteeship of the council under a DOGIT.[10]

Self-appointed "president" of Palm Island, Jeremy Geia, symbolically declared independence from Australia in 2001. The "Peoples Democratic Republic of Palm Island" was an expression of grievances against the Australian and Queensland Governments for neglect of Palm Islanders.[11]

The Palm Island Council received qualified audits for the financial years 1999–2000, 2002–03 and 2003–04, and unqualified audits for 2000–01 and 2001–02. In October 2003 the council was dissolved and an administrator was appointed until the March 2004 election. This occurred due to a range of governance and financial management issues, including: insolvency, financial mismanagement, poor records and decision-making processes, and a failure to deliver major infrastructure projects.[12] In addition, according to the Palm Island Select Committee, the local government elections of 1997, 2000, and 2004 demonstrated a lack of continuity in office-bearers, a relatively small number of voters combined with a large number of candidates, and a trend in some families for a number of relatives to stand for election.[12]

Lex Wotton, who would later go on to lead the 2004 Palm Island riots, had resigned in June 2003 after becoming dissatisfied with the council's practices.[13]

At the conclusion of the administrator's term, a handover report was presented to the newly elected Council, which included: allocation of specific portfolios for Councillors and the establishment of committee structures to ensure functional decision-making, appointment of a financial controller for 12 months and the engagement of a Human Resource Management consultant.[12]

2005: Council becomes a shire

On 1 January 2005, under the Local Government (Community Government Areas) Act 2004 (Qld) (the "CGA"), the Palm Island Aboriginal Council became the Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council, on a par with other local councils in Queensland.[10] This reconstitution into a Shire Council formed part of the Meeting Challenges, Making Choices strategy developed in response to the Cape York Justice Study undertaken by Justice Fitzgerald QC in November 2001.[14]

Delena Foster became Mayor on 16 December 2006, taking over from Erykah Kyle. She had previously been chairwoman of the Community Council from 2001 to 2003,[15] and had stood as an Independent candidate for the electoral district of Townsville in the 2004 election.[16]

The structure of the Aboriginal Shire Council (or Community Council as it was previously) was criticised in the 2000 Dillon Report for the following reasons:[17]

Functions

The Shire's core business is the provision of housing. It conducted an audit of its houses and the people living in them in 2007, finding found that 120 new homes were needed. However, the Council primarily relies on income from rent and Government subsidies and can only afford to build one or two new houses a year.[3]

2020 financial troubles

Before the March 2020 Council elections, two former council finance staff had charges of fraud laid against them by the Crime and Corruption Commission, and the state government brought in financial and governance advisers. In July 2020 it was found that the council had an operational deficit of about out of a total budget of . It was feared that plans for a new shopping precinct, due to deliver much-needed business and job opportunities, would be affected.[18]

Demographics

In the, the Aboriginal Shire of Palm Island had a population of 2,446 people of whom 2,298 (94.1%) self-identified as an Indigenous person.

In the, the Aboriginal Shire of Palm Island had a population of 2,098 people of whom 1,918 (94.1%) self-identified as an Indigenous person.

Libraries

The Palm Island Shire Council operate the Bwgcolman Indigenous Knowledge Centre at 1 Main Street, Palm Island.[19]

Council

Palm Island Shire Council
House Type:Unicameral
Leader1 Type:Mayor
Leader1:Mislam Sam
Party1:Independent
Leader2 Type:Deputy Mayor
Leader2:Andrea Kyle-Sailor
Party2:Independent
Seats:5 elected representatives, including a Mayor and 4 councillors
Political Groups1:
  • Majority:
Last Election1:28 March 2020
Next Election1:16 March 2024

The Palm Island Shire Council is a fully non-partisan council, with no elected councillors declaring membership of any political parties.

Below is the current council, elected in 2020:[20]

NameNotes
Deputy Mayor
Mayor

Chairmen and mayors

External links

-18.7367°N 146.5814°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: About the profile areas - Hinchinbrook (S) . .idcommunity (Far North Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils) . 11 April 2017 . 4 March 2020 . 4 March 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200304011236/https://profile.id.com.au/fnqroc/about?WebID=170 . live .
  2. Web site: 2015 Local Government Boundaries: Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council. map. Electoral Commission of Queensland. 4 March 2020. 4 March 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200304011334/https://www.ecq.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/3807/PALM-ISLAND-ABORIGINAL.pdf. live.
  3. News: Ian. Townsend. Privatising Palm Island . Background Briefing . . 1 April 2007 . 3 April 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070428172740/http://www.abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/stories/2007/1884420.htm. 28 April 2007 . live.
  4. Web site: Localities of Orpheus Island and Pelorus Island, Shire of Hinchinbrook. 2011-07-31 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110916190025/http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/property/pdf/pelorus-orpheus-islands.pdf . 16 September 2011. Queensland Government . dmy .
  5. Web site: Local government elections . Queensland Government. Dept of Local Government, Racing and Multicultural Affairs . 28 May 2020 . 19 May 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200519235929/http://www.dlgrma.qld.gov.au/local-government/local-government-elections.html . dead .
  6. Web site: Remote and discrete communities elect local government voices . The Queensland Cabinet and Ministerial Directory . 29 April 2020 . 28 May 2020.
  7. Web site: View - Queensland Government . Queensland Legislation . 23 April 1982 . 28 February 2020 . 28 February 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200228101152/https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/asmade/act-1982-017/lh . live .
  8. Web site: View - Queensland Government . Queensland Legislation . April 1985 . 28 February 2020 . 28 February 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200228101153/https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/repealed/current/act-1985-041 . live .
  9. Book: Watson, Joanne. Palm Island: Through a Long Lens. illustrated. Aboriginal Studies Press. 2010. 9780855757038. 136–137. 28 February 2020.
  10. Web site: Palm Island . Queensland Government . 26 November 2014 . 24 February 2020 . 23 February 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200223100824/https://www.qld.gov.au/atsi/cultural-awareness-heritage-arts/community-histories/community-histories-n-p/community-histories-palm-island . live .
  11. News: Aboriginal community announces independence . . 15 November 2001 . 31 January 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070206032054/http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200111/s417112.htm . 6 February 2007 .
  12. Book: Palm Island Select Committee . Report – August 2005 . August 2005 . . Tabled in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland 25 August 2005 --> . 15–16 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070925233302/http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/PISC/view/committees/documents/PISC/reports/report.pdf . 25 September 2007 .
  13. News: Lineham. Sheree. 19 July 2003. Townsville Bulletin. Palm council 'failure'. News: 7.
  14. Book: McDougall, Scott . Palm Island: Future Directions – Resource Officer Report . . Queensland Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy . January 2006. 27. https://web.archive.org/web/20070707062313/http://www.datsip.qld.gov.au/resources/publications/documents/future-directions-palm-island-resource-officer-report.pdf. 7 July 2007 .
  15. News: Palm Island elects new mayor . . 17 December 2006 . 31 January 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080617015945/http://www.abc.net.au/news/australia/qld/townsville/200612/s1813312.htm . 17 June 2008 .
  16. News: Reynolds returned. Magnetic Times. 8 February 2004. 20 November 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304031109/http://www.magnetictimes.com/index.php?p=1&ID=1061. 4 March 2016. dead.
  17. Book: Dillon, Colin. Final Report – Review of the Indigenous Communities of Doomadgee and Palm Island. April 2000. Phillip, A.C.T. : ATSIC. Review commissioned by the then Australian Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Senator John Herron March 1998. 3.1 Review Findings – Governance. 18–27.
  18. Web site: Palm Island Council has no cash reserves and can't complete projects, CEO says . Sofie . Wainwright . ABC News . Australian Broadcasting Corporation . 31 July 2020 . 6 August 2020 . 9 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200809201405/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-01/palm-island-council-struggling-with-budget-deficit/12513298 . live .
  19. Web site: Palm Island (Bwgcolman Indigenous Knowledge Center). 6 January 2017. Public Libraries Connect. State Library of Queensland. 2 February 2018. 3 February 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180203005706/http://plconnect.slq.qld.gov.au/networking/directory-of-public-libraries/branches/palm_island/bwgcolman_indigenous_knowledge_centre. live.
  20. Web site: Archived copy . 14 December 2023 . 14 December 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231214220334/https://www.palmcouncil.qld.gov.au/elected-council . live .
  21. Web site: 2008 Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council - Mayoral Election - Election Summary. results.ecq.qld.gov.au. 2017-12-04. 7 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190407053007/http://results.ecq.qld.gov.au/elections/local/lg2008/PalmIslandAboriginalShireCouncil/results/mayoral/summary.html. live.
  22. Web site: 2012 Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council - Mayoral Election - Election Summary. results.ecq.qld.gov.au. 2017-12-04. 5 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180405044014/http://results.ecq.qld.gov.au/elections/local/LG2012/PalmIslandAboriginalShireCouncil/results/mayoral/summary.html. live.
  23. Web site: 2016 Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council - Mayoral Election - Election Summary. results.ecq.qld.gov.au. 2017-12-04. 27 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180327054843/http://results.ecq.qld.gov.au/elections/local/LG2016/PalmIslandAboriginalShireCouncil/results/mayoral/summary.html. live.
  24. Web site: Council . Palm Island Aboriginal Shire . Elected Council . https://web.archive.org/web/20200309170630/http://www.palmcouncil.qld.gov.au/elected-council. 9 March 2020.
  25. Web site: Council . Palm Island Aboriginal Shire . Elected Council . 23 February 2020 . 9 March 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200309170630/http://www.palmcouncil.qld.gov.au/elected-council . live .
  26. Web site: 2020. 2020 Local Government Elections: Saturday, 28 March 2020. 16 June 2020. Electoral Commission of Queensland.

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