Key points
- The Christmas Island falls within the Lingiari electorate in the northern territory.
- Some locals are concerned that their voices are not heard in Canberra.
- Experts say that islander votes could determine the fate of the marginal seat.
The residents of Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, throw their vote in a seat of the Northern territory (NT) despite following the laws of Western Australia (WA) and being administered by the Federal Department of Infrastructure in Canberra.
Hogar of 1,700 people, Christmas Island has been part of the electorate or division of Lingiari since its residents won the right to vote in federal elections in 1984.
The Lingiari seat covers 1,348,073 square kilometers, or 99.98 percent of the NT.
However, the islanders do not participate in the state elections of WA or in the NT elections. On the other hand, an administrator, appointed by the general governor, represents the Minister of Infrastructure in Christmas Islands and the Cocos Islands (Keeling).
According to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), the Electoral Law establishes that Christmas Island will remain within a NT division unless its population becomes large enough to guarantee its own federal representation.
The same applies to the Cocos Islands (Keeling), which is also included in Lingiari, and the island of Norfolk, which falls under the territory of the capital of Australia (ACT).
The votes of the Christmas islanders are counted on the federal lingiari seat that Alice Springs also takes, 3,300 km from the island. Credit: Google Maps
Dr. Rob Manwaring, an associated professor at the Faculty of Business, Government and Law of the University of Flinders, describes this agreement as “unusual”, pointing out a possible “strong representation gap” for the island’s residents.
“Christmas Island [can] Feel especially deprived of your rights due to the distance and remoteness of the island from the continent and the daily decision -making processes, “said Manwaring.
“There is probably a question about whether Christmas islanders would feel that their views are better located inside a seat within WA, which could fit more within their interests and claims, or within the current seat within the NT.”
The associated professor at the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Sciences of the University of Griffith, Paul Williams, acknowledges that, although the premises could align with the WA values, the sensation of isolation would resonate with the member for Lingiari because people inside the largest seat also had the feeling of being far from Canberra.
“Certainly, they would have a comprehensive ear in the member (for) Lingiari,” said Williams.
Until 1992, Christmas Island’s laws remained largely based on the laws of Colonial Singapore. Fountain: SBS / Nicole Gong
Despite his small voter base, the electoral importance of Christmas Island should not be underestimated, experts say.
“The fact that it is regional does not mean that it is not important,” said Williams.
“If it is regional and marginal, it will be [the] The attention of the main parties. “
According to the AEC, as of March 27, 2025, there were 579 voters registered in Christmas Island.
In the last federal elections, Lingiari was won by Marion Scrymgour of Labor for only 854 votes about the candidate of the country’s liberal party, Damien Ryan.
Manwaring believes that this makes the island’s voters “significant” in the next elections.
“If the winning candidate only had an advantage of 800 or 900 seats, then 600 voters can really influence,” he said.
“Then, a large block of votes of Christmas Island could actually determine the real result of the elections there.”
The local workers of Christmas Island declared strike at the end of February, demanding “the same work, the same salary, the same conditions” as continental Australia. Fountain: SBS / Nicole Gong
Both Manwaring and Williams agree that, as a marginal seat, Lingiari will attract the attention of both main games. However, if party leaders will visit the island, it is still uncertain.
A trip to Christmas Island from the Australia continent generally requires a transfer in Perth and a scale through the Cocos Islands (Keeling), which has been in total for more than 20 hours.
“It is not really realistic for a federal leader to take time for a campaign to visit that small number of voters in Christmas Island, but it would certainly be a magnanimous act if they ever did,” said Williams.
‘A small point in the ocean’
While Williams said he had “great faith and trust” in the AEC and the electoral process that allowed the concerns of Christmas islanders to be heard, many places have a different opinion.
“It is difficult for us to have our voices heard. We are a small point in the ocean and we are far from Canberra, where the decision has been made,” a local voter told SBS Chinese.
The resident of the Christmas island of a lifetime, Koon Yong Ho, said he believed that the island had been overlooked by the Australian government for years.
The Family of the Isleño Christmas Koon Yong Ho emigrated from Hainan, China, in the 1940s. Fountain: SBS / Nicole Gong
“The Australian government is not investing a penny on the island,” he said. “Look at the roads: wherever you see it is not good because we don’t have the financing.”
Ho’s family history on the island dates back to the 1940s when his father left Hainan, China, in search of work.
After briefly returning to China to marry, he and Ho’s mother settled in Christmas Island, where they raised his family.
Although Christmas Island became an Australian territory in 1958 after his purchase of Singapore, more than six decades later, not all residents feel a strong sense of belonging to Australia.
“I really don’t think about whether I am Australian or not,” said Ho. “I was born in Christmas Island. I am only a citizen of Australia, that’s.”
The AEC has confirmed that they plan to make a remote vote in Christmas Island for several days, approximately one week before the day of the elections of continental Australia on May 3.
SBS Chinese contacted both the liberal party candidate of the Lingiari country, Lisa Siebert, and the functions deputy Marion Scrymgour to comment, but had not received an answer at the time of the publication.
