Labor and Liberal are united in their determination to replace the island's government with regional council-style government, as part of a move to bring Norfolk into the mainland tax, welfare, health and education system, with a vote due on Tuesday.

The Norfolk government has described the abolition of self-government as an "absolute denial of human rights and a grave travesty of justice".

But it has made no headway with the major parties, despite calls from former ACT chief minister Jon Stanhope for his Labor Party colleagues to resist a return to "old colonial-style rule" and the "trashing of the democratic rights of the people of Norfolk Island".

Labor MP for Canberra Gai Brodtmann, who will become the islanders' sole federal representative under the new system, said democracy, would remain, just in a different shape.

"Jon [Stanhope] seems to suggest there's going to be this completed abandonment of democracy. That's just not the case," she said.

"In my view, there's no point in having self-government for self-government's sake. For self-government to have my support it's got to be sustainable, economically responsible and stable and it's got to be in the best interests of the people it serves. And there's a lot of people on Norfolk who are doing it very tough at the moment relying on food parcels, not getting scripts filled because they can't afford it."

Self-government was ludicrous and ill-conceived, she said, given the small population and the shallow revenue and economic base. There had been a royal commission, 12 parliamentary inquires and 20 expert reports on Norfolk, and support for this week's legislation was bi-partisan, she said.

The Norfolk legislation is due to be voted on in the lower House on Tuesday and the Senate on Wednesday. If passed, an advisory council would be set up on the island to work out details for the new regional government, for which a vote would be held in May 2016.

Mr Snell, who is in Canberra with businessman Andre Nobbs and youth representative Chelsea Evans, said islanders wanted a territory-style government, with the same powers and responsibilities as the ACT. A system in which the Commonwealth ran the island from the "ivory towers" of the bureaucracy would not work, would cost more and would mean no accountability for the delivery of services on the ground.

"If you abolish the Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly, who would have responsibility and accountability for the delivery of those functions?" he said. "That democratic accountability process will not exist."

Mr Snell is angry at the plan for all islanders to be brought into Ms Brodtmann's electorate, saying it was "absolutely silly" and made no sense, with no community of interest with Canberra.

Mr Nobbs said that the community was concerned and disheartened by the lack of consultation.

He rejected the suggestion that the business community supported the abolition of self-government, saying many businesses were already "considering their exit strategy", concerned about the impact of the mainland regulations, payroll tax, company tax and other costs of doing business.

"We want an outcome that is practical and cost effective so the work ethic that is so strong on the island can continue and the Commonwealth doesn't turn us into a welfare-dependent non-competitive tourism destination," he said.