SECTION 1 OF 8 — COMMUNITY PROFILE These questions help GNI understand whether experiences of wellbeing differ across different parts of the Norfolk Island community. Community Profile responses are used for statistical analysis only and are not scored as Community Wellbeing Indicators.
Which of the following best describes you? How many generations of your family have lived on Norfolk Island? How long have you lived on Norfolk Island? How many people live in your household? Who owns your household residence? Which best describes your current employment? On average, how many paid hours do you work each week?
SECTION 2 OF 8 — ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY Norfolk Island's natural environment and resources are fundamental to community wellbeing, cultural continuity and long-term sustainability. This section asks about the condition and stewardship of the Island's environment and confidence in its capacity to support future generations.
How confident are you that Norfolk Island's natural environment is being protected for future generations? How would you rate the management of Norfolk Island's land and natural resources? How confident are you in the Island's long-term water security? How would you rate waste management on Norfolk Island? How confident are you that biodiversity is being protected? How effective are current biosecurity arrangements? How well are public parks, reserves and community environmental assets maintained? How important is protecting productive agricultural land? How important is increasing Norfolk Island's food self-sufficiency? Looking ahead, what environmental issue or priority do you believe is most important for Norfolk Island's future?
SECTION 3 OF 8 — SOCIAL WELLBEING Social wellbeing reflects people's experience of everyday life on Norfolk Island, including health, housing, safety, access to services, community connection and financial security. This section asks about the conditions that contribute to a safe, healthy, connected and resilient community.
Overall, how satisfied are you with your quality of life on Norfolk Island? How would you rate your overall physical health? How would you rate your overall mental and emotional wellbeing? How connected do you feel to the Norfolk Island community? How safe do you feel living on Norfolk Island? How satisfied are you with your current housing situation? How would you rate your household's ability to meet essential expenses such as food, electricity, water and gas during the past 12 months? How confident are you that suitable housing will remain available for future generations? How easy is it to access the services your household needs? How would you rate the willingness of people to support one another within the community? Overall, how would you rate social wellbeing on Norfolk Island? What do you believe is the greatest social issue facing Norfolk Island?
SECTION 4 OF 8 — ECONOMIC RESILIENCE Economic resilience reflects the capacity of individuals, households, businesses and the wider community to participate in a viable local economy, respond to change and access economic opportunity. This section asks about employment, business conditions, affordability, essential services and confidence in Norfolk Island's economic future.
How secure do you feel about your household's financial future? How would you rate employment opportunities on Norfolk Island? How supportive is the current business environment for local enterprise? How affordable is the cost of living on Norfolk Island? How affordable is housing for local residents? How accessible is your access to money for personal or business lending? How reliable are essential services such as electricity, telecommunications and freight? How would you rate the reliability of Norfolk Island's electricity services? How would you rate the reliability of Norfolk Island's telecommunications services? How would you rate the reliability of freight services to and from Norfolk Island? How confident are you in Norfolk Island's long-term economic future? How well does Norfolk Island support young people seeking employment or business opportunities? How would you rate the opportunities available for young people to find suitable employment on Norfolk Island? How would you rate the opportunities available for young people to establish or develop a business on Norfolk Island? How well are Norfolk Island's assets and resources being managed for long-term benefit? What economic issue or opportunity do you believe is most important to Norfolk Island's future?
SECTION 5 OF 8 — CULTURAL CONTINUITY Norfolk Island's cultural identity is expressed through its history, heritage, Norf'k language, traditions, knowledge and community practices. This section asks about the strength and continuity of these cultural foundations, including participation and transmission between generations.
How important is protecting Norfolk Island's cultural heritage? How would you rate your ability to speak Norf'k? How would you rate the frequency with which you use Norf'k in your everyday life, including at home? How would you rate your level of participation in Norfolk Island cultural activities and practices, such as dance, weaving, music or other cultural activities? How confident are you that the Norf'k language will continue to be spoken by future generations? How well are Norfolk Island's traditions being maintained? How connected do you personally feel to Norfolk Island's history and heritage? How well are young people being encouraged to participate in Norfolk Island's cultural life? How well are significant heritage places being protected? How important is maintaining Norfolk Island's distinct identity within the Pacific region? How confident are you that Norfolk Island's culture will remain strong over the next twenty years? What aspect of Norfolk Island's culture, language or heritage do you believe most needs to be protected or strengthened for future generations?
SECTION 6 OF 8 — GOVERNANCE & CONSTITUTIONAL INTEGRITY Governance and constitutional integrity form part of community wellbeing under the Governance Charter. This section asks about access to information, participation, transparency, accountability and confidence in governance arrangements affecting Norfolk Island.
How well informed do you feel about decisions affecting Norfolk Island? How would you rate your familiarity with the Government of Norfolk Island Governance Charter? How confident are you that community views are genuinely considered in decision-making? How transparent do you consider public decision-making processes to be? How accountable do you consider Norfolk Island's public institutions? How confident are you in the integrity of the General Assembly process? How easy is it for community members to participate in public decision-making? How important is direct democracy to Norfolk Island's future? How confident are you that constitutional modernisation is progressing appropriately? How confident are you in Norfolk Island's long-term governance arrangements? How well do you understand the current Australian administrative arrangements applying to Norfolk Island? How well informed do you feel about the way Australian Government agencies communicate decisions and changes affecting Norfolk Island? How well do current governance arrangements respond to Norfolk Island's local circumstances and community needs? How well do current governance arrangements support locally accountable decision-making for Norfolk Island? What aspect of governance or decision-making affecting Norfolk Island do you believe most needs attention in the future?
SECTION 7 OF 8 — POPULATION & FUTURE SUSTAINABILITY The future of Norfolk Island will be shaped by the decisions we make today. Population affects housing, employment, essential services, infrastructure, the environment, community cohesion, cultural continuity and economic resilience. This section seeks to understand whether the community believes Norfolk Island can sustain its population over time while maintaining wellbeing and opportunity for future generations.
This section is not intended to determine immigration policy. Population and immigration matters may also be examined separately through dedicated community consultation and other evidence.
To what extent do you agree that Norfolk Island's current population is sustainable having regard to the Island's services, infrastructure, environment, economy and community wellbeing? How would you rate the capacity of Norfolk Island's current infrastructure to meet the needs of the population now and into the future? To what extent do you agree that population planning should remain within Norfolk Island's environmental capacity? To what extent do you agree that protecting Norfolk Island's cultural continuity must be a priority in population planning? How confident are you that young families can establish long-term lives on Norfolk Island? How important is encouraging Norfolk Islanders living elsewhere to return? How important is attracting skilled workers where local skills are unavailable? What aspect of Norfolk Island's population and future sustainability do you believe most needs attention in planning for the future?
SECTION 8 OF 8 — STEWARDSHIP: LOOKING AHEAD Stewardship requires us to think beyond today and consider the wellbeing of future generations. This final section invites you to consider Norfolk Island's future and identify the priorities you believe should guide long-term planning.
How optimistic are you about Norfolk Island's future? How confident are you that future generations will enjoy the same or better quality of life than today? How well prepared is Norfolk Island to meet future challenges? How important is long-term planning in Government decision-making? Overall, how confident are you in Norfolk Island's future? Thinking about the future of Norfolk Island, what issue do you believe most needs attention to protect the wellbeing of future generations?
THANK YOU Thank you for taking the time to contribute to Norfolk Island's first Community Wellbeing Survey.
Responses will be analysed collectively to establish the Community Wellbeing Baseline. Individual responses will not be identified or published.
The results will be reported publicly and will support future General Assembly deliberations, Community Wellbeing reporting, Sustainability Assessments and the development of the State of Norfolk Island Report.
The Survey is intended to be repeated over time so that changes in community wellbeing can be measured and emerging priorities identified.
