By Jim O’Toole
Torres Strait island councils and a mainland council are holding a gathering in Cairns Tuesday and Wednesday to debate the formation of regional autonomy.
To achieve this final result a sovereign state or Torres Strait island nation must be created which may enable Torres Strait Islanders successfully to secede from Australia.
An even bigger hurdle for presidency in consideration of this unlikely proposal is the inclusion of the Northern Peninsula Space Regional Council which administers 5 Aboriginal and Islander communities on the mainland Tip of Cape York.
occasion to speak about sovereignty, statehood and self-determination into the longer term. It appears there have been extra white folks in attendance than black.
Excising the Torres Strait is one factor however the mainland is an inconceivable different.
A mess of points for each mainland Australia and a brand new, autonomous state would observe which embrace nationwide safety, easy methods to obtain monetary independence from Australia and easy methods to feed a brand new nation which has no farm land.
Presently the Islanders primarily depend on sea meals for protein consumption. Focused species embrace turtle, dugong, lobster and fish which can be found solely when native climate situations allow.
Consumables arrive by barge from Cairns at an exorbitant value which has been averaging $600 per pallet of groceries. Chilly and frozen items have a a lot increased cost.
Beef, lamb or pork costs are prohibitive for islanders who’re often charged $20-25 for a slice of steak, not essentially rump.
A tropical rock lobster export business operates all through the islands which now has 66.2 per cent native possession held by the Torres Strait Regional Authority.
The Torres Strait is populated with Islanders however simply who’re these folks? From the place did they arrive?
Typically Torres Strait islanders descend from the Pacific Islands however a lot of the inhabitants have shut hyperlinks to Papua New Guinea. Fashionable Aborigines are a separate race of people that descended from pre-Dravidian Indians crossing the Sahul land bridge roughly 18,000 years in the past.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahul_Shelf
Australian Aborigines personal the most important island within the Torres Strait, which is the 20,000 hectare Prince of Wales Island and Horn Island which is dwelling to Australia’s northernmost worldwide airport. The rest of islands are owned by islander communities.
Solely 17 of the entire 270 islands are inhabited
A scattering of smaller islands akin to Thursday Island is the enterprise hub of the Strait housing a number of hundred state and federal public servants, a state government-run hospital and allied well being providers.
By leaving Australian governmental administration what may the brand new state of Torres Strait supply to its 4514 inhabitants (2016 Census) with a median family revenue of $929 which includes Centrelink funds on which 90 per cent of the inhabitants depends?
Thursday Island’s multitude of presidency companies present employment for less than a small proportion of its inhabitants.
The Australian Authorities spent $20m on well being providers for the Torres Strait in 2019-20 in response to obtainable ABS statistics.
Within the 2016 Census, Torres Strait islands had a inhabitants of 4,514 folks, with 91.8% figuring out as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. About half of the inhabitants have been male, and the median age was 24 years. A good portion of the inhabitants was below 15 years previous, with 34.6% being kids.
In 2019–20, expenditure on major well being care providers for Indigenous Australians was $3,887 per particular person, in contrast with $2,055 per particular person for non-Indigenous Australians (ratio 1.9).
Expenditure for secondary/tertiary well being care providers was $5,347 per particular person for Indigenous Australians, in contrast with $3,951 for non-Indigenous Australians (ratio 1.4).
These expenditure, proportionately would prolong to the Torres Strait which is serviced by the Royal Flying Physician Service based mostly in Cairns and Queensland Well being air providers.
Whole, total expenditure to maintain the Torres Strait functioning isn’t available.
Neither is the price of regional safety maintained by Australian Authorities company Borderforce or the Australian Navy.
Funding avenues for an autonomous state could be not possible to realize for Queensland’s intensive, northern sea lanes and islands which in impact resembles a third-world enclave with its main infrastructure being housing, diesel-generated energy and no substantial sea port.
China enters the equation
Funding of an autonomous Torres Strait presents a significant hurdle for Islanders who since federation have been dependent upon Australian Authorities largesse.
Because it stands right now there is no such thing as a mechanism obtainable to the Torres Strait for producing revenue to allow self-sufficiency.
A small breakaway group of rogue Islanders claiming to characterize Gudang and Kaurareg communities have introduced China to the Torres Strait providing its Consul Dr Ruan Zongze island land to ascertain large-scale infrastructure akin to a gas depot and even buying the Horn Island Worldwide Airport, presumably as a leasing association.
Chairman of Kaurareg Native Title Aboriginal Company, based mostly on Horn Island, Mr Eliza Wasaga mentioned the rogue group members didn’t characterize anybody in Kaurareg and have been “working off on their very own.”
He mentioned the Kaurareg folks, the most important land and sea conventional house owners in Torres Strait, didn’t assist China acquiring land.
That is an extract from an article revealed by Cairns Information October 5, 2024:
Strikes are underway for Torres Strait communities to affix the Yidinji sovereign nation, established in Cairns practically a decade in the past, to interrupt away from Australian authorities rule.
The Chinese language authorities has been requested to bankroll the proposed Torres Strait nation which has already elected its political representatives in anticipation.
Gudang and Kaurareg elders at a Cairns assembly in September mentioned they wished to interrupt free from reliance on the Australian authorities and take cost of their very own affairs.
This may very well be a noble sentiment to offer Islanders a heat and fuzzy feeling about managing their future, but when China pays the payments what does the Communist authorities of Bejiing need in return?
In September the Chinese language Consul visited the Torres Strait ostensibly to pave the way in which for enormous Chinese language funding in a brand new sea port on Hammond Island amongst different initiatives.
Consul Dr Ruan Zonzge’s go to was for “courtesy conferences with native authorities and communities however not for the precise initiatives as listed in your letter,” the Consulate claimed after Cairns Information ship an inventory of inquiries to the Consul.
Torres Strait elder Seriat Younger informed Torres Information he wished to see constructive change in his communities for his kids’s sake.
He mentioned that was why they’d appointed Ministerial roles and begun the method of building a sovereign authorities construction.
“We’re going to do all of it by ourselves, we are going to do that factor for our glory,” he mentioned.
“We wish the [Australian government] to take a look at us and see how [they] have oppressed us for a really very long time in [our] personal nation.
Mr Younger made no point out of the annual $40 billion Australian Authorities funds allocation for the nationwide Aboriginal business or the $2m lately handed out by authorities to the house owners of Pajinka land on the Tip.
Cairns assembly
Torres Strait Island Regional Council Mayor Phillemon Mosby despatched this invitation to attend the Cairns assembly;
On Tuesday thirteenth & Wednesday 14th Might 2025 regional management cohorts consisting of Mayors, Councillors, CEO and Chairs of Torres Strait Island Regional Council, Torres Shire Council, Northern Peninsula Space Regional Council, Torres Strait Regional Authority together with Gur Berdaraw Kod (GBK) will meet in Cairns to debate regional points and methods on how we are able to higher work in partnership to handle them collaboratively.
The important thing subjects that will likely be mentioned are;
– Torres Strait & Northern Peninsula Space Regional ROC
– Regional Autonomy | Regional Meeting
– Protected, Accessible & Reasonably priced Transportation
– Blue Safety & Protected Area
– Land Tenure (DOGIT) & Native Title
– Regional Well being Reform
– Regional Financial Progress & Independence
Key regional stakeholders, companions and authorities departments together with ministers have additionally been invited to attend.
Our Council along with our regional management is dedicated to enhancing the liveability of our areas and pursing our long-term aspiration for self-determination and regional autonomy.
