Board Meeting: November 2013
Agenda Number: 10(vii)
File Ref: AD008
LORD HOWE ISLAND BOARD
Business Paper
ITEM
Islander Status of Robyn Curtin
BACKGROUND
Robyn Curtin has applied for Islander status under Clause 3 (1) (d) of the Lord Howe Island
Act 1953. This clause provides that an Islander is a person who “is, on the recommendation
of the Board made in special circumstances, declared by the Minister, by order published in
the Gazette and for the time being in force, to have retained or acquired the status of an
Islander”.
CURRENT POSITION
Ms Curtin’s letter of application is attached. Ms Curtin believes her “special circumstances”
are as follows:
 Her grandfather, Alexander Fenton, settled on Lord Howe Island in the late 19th
century and built the (now) heritage listed dwelling “Kenta” in 1906,
 In the early 1980s the then Premier of New South Wales, Neville Wran, repeatedly
assured her that she would not lose her Islander status as a result of the proposed
amendments to the Act (Amendments to the Act provided that to qualify, generally
speaking, a person must have resided continuously on the island from 1 January
1977 to 1 January 1982),
 She was in residence on the island on 1 January 1982. She assumed (incorrectly, as
did several other people) that her being in residence on 1 January 1982 would
confirm her Islander status. No further information or evidence was sought by the
Board,
 She inherited a share in her grandfather’s property 20 years ago. She lodged a DA
for the subdivision and erection of a new dwelling, and the Board’s consent was
given in December 2010,
 The issue of her Islander status (or lack thereof) was not raised with her until this
year, and
 She took up full time permanent residence on the island about 12 months ago, and
has no other habitual abode.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Board recommend to the Minister that Robyn Curtin be declared
to have acquired the status of an Islander.
Prepared Bill Monks
A/ Chief Executive Officer