The ACT government could deliver Norfolk Island services

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull contacted Chief Minister Andrew Barr about the issue in late July, before he was removed from the top job.

A spokeswoman for the Chief Minister said the conversation was about the possibility of the ACT government providing some services to Norfolk Island.

In 2015 the federal government revoked the self-government arrangements that had been in place on the small island, which is around 1400 kilometres east of the Australian mainland in the Pacific Ocean. Since then most state services to the island have been delivered by the NSW government, but funded by the federal government.

Some services that would normally be administered at a state level, like car registrations for the 1800 residents, are managed by the regional council on the island and some are contracted out.

Under the current arrangements, NSW will be providing services until at least June 2021. New federal assistant minister for Regional Development and Territories Sussan Ley said in a comment on a Facebook post by the Norfolk Island Chamber of Commerce on September 17 there was a "possibility" NSW wouldn't be able to deliver all services in the future and that is why the ACT government had been approached as a possible provider.

Since the discussion between the former prime minister and the chief minister, ACT government officials have had what is described as a "preliminary discussions" with their federal government counterparts.

The discussions were "to better understand the nature of the Commonwealth request, but little detail has been provided as yet," according to the chief minister's spokeswoman.

"The chief minister noted that the ACT would only consider a Commonwealth proposal provided all costs to the territory were met by the federal government," the spokeswoman said.

According to the ACT government, issues such as aviation access between Canberra and Norfolk Island would need to be considered if plans were to move further ahead.

"No commitments have been made by the ACT, and it is unclear if Prime Minister Turnbull’s personal commitments around funding and logistics will be honoured," the spokeswoman said.

It's understood that the former prime minister had committed the federal government to continue funding the services, and to look into aviation between Canberra and the island.

Ms Ley said the government was working to ensure services continued to be delivered to the island.

"Right now, some services are provided by NSW to Norfolk Island, particularly in the areas of education and health. Other services are delivered through models with non-government organisations or directly by Australian government agencies, as not all state-type services are being provided by NSW," Ms Ley told Fairfax Media.

"The Australian government is proactively working to ensure the ongoing, effective and sustainable delivery of health, education and other services on the island. As these arrangements are progressed, the community will be consulted and have an opportunity to co-design the new service delivery arrangements."

Ms Ley said the government was working to ensure residents got the services they need without facing any interruption.

"In the meantime, the Commonwealth will continue working with NSW, the Norfolk Island Regional Council, and to explore other options to ensure the community has access to the services it needs."

Vice president of the Norfolk Island Chamber of Commerce Brett Sanderson said the community on Norfolk Island had faced financial hardship since self-government had ended, and described the current governance model as "broken".

"There’s a huge democratic deficit because we have those state services delivered by NSW and we don't have a vote in NSW," Mr Sanderson said. He believes the conversation between the federal and ACT governments has started because NSW no longer wants to deliver services to the island.

"I very much doubt the ACT will take on the role," he said.

"The island is so so sick of this sort of colonial power over-lording from Canberra without having a real say."

Federal member for Canberra Gai Brodtmann also represents the people of Norfolk Island in the Australian parliament. Mr Sanderson said he hadn't attempted to contact her about the way services are delivered, and labelled her "part of the problem" as Ms Brodtmann was part of the committee that recommended Norfolk Island come under Australian federal government control.

Ms Brodtmann was contacted for comment.