Oceania > Norfolk Island > Government

View full size

Administrative divisions none (territory of Australia)
Capital city	Kingston
Capital city > Geographic coordinates	29 03 S, 167 58 E
Capital city > Name	Kingston
Capital city > Time difference UTC+11.5 (16.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Constitution Norfolk Island Act of 1979, as amended in 2005
Dependency status self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Attorney-General's Department
Diplomatic representation from the US none (territory of Australia)
Diplomatic representation in the US none (territory of Australia)
Executive branch > Cabinet Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator
Executive branch > Chief of state Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by the Australian governor general
Executive branch > Elections the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia
Executive branch > Head of government Acting Administrator Owen WALSH (since October 2007)
Flag description three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band
Independence none (territory of Australia)
International organization participation	UPU
Judicial branch Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions
Legal system based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law
Legislative branch unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; to serve three-year terms)
Legislative branch > Election results seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties)
Legislative branch > Elections last held 21 March 2007 (next to be held by 28 March 2010)
National holiday Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June
political parties > No party	•
Political parties and leaders	none
Political pressure groups and leaders	none
Prime minister	David Buffett
Status dependent democracy
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal
Transnational Issues > Disputes > International	none

Related links:

• Forum discussion > Government
• Looking for Stats on the American Government? Check out StateMaster
• Stay updated with current stat feeds! Subscribe to the Government RSS / Atom feeds
•  Subscribe to our popular Government factoids RSS / Atom feeds
• Save this page on  del.icio.us / furl / your bookmarks

More facts and figures on Norfolk Island