Despite strong opposition over the past year Australian will today complete its removal of autonomy from Norfolk Island.
Under Canberra's new plan, Norfolk will be run by a regional council under New South Wales.
It comes as the opponents to the plan intensify their push for international rights bodies to investigate what they call Canberra's illegal actions.
The Norfolk administrator, Gary Hardgrave dismissed the opponents of the take over as a minority.
Photo: Norfolk government
But over the past year the group Norfolk Island People for Democracy had strong backing at public meetings, for a referendum it ran, and on social media, and most recently in its push for the United Nations to list the territory as a non-self-governing territory.
It also launched a case at the UN's Human Rights Council in Geneva and another with the International Court of Justice.
After today Gary Hardgrave will stay on as Canberra's man but he will have to deal with a regional council of which three of the five members support Norfolk Island People for Democracy.
