New Caledonians vote in the long-awaited independence referendum. 56 percent to 44 percent chose to stay as part of France. Only long-standing residents, of both Kanak and European descent, were entitled to vote as a first step in creating the new country of Kanaky. The referendum, established as part of the peace settlement promised after racial violence and insurgencies in the 1980s, delayed in the 1990s, was originally due to take place in 2014. Under the peace agreement, there is provision for further referendums in 2020 and 2022. Given the unexpectedly close result, both are now expected to take place. The population of New Caledonia is 268,000 with 175,000 voters taking part in the referendum. While independence sentiments weighed heavily with the Indigenous population, economic sustainability and strategic considerations affecting small Pacific nations have significantly altered in the intervening 40 years. Although having 25 percent of the world’s nickel, France provides $2bn a year in subsidies to New Caledonia including its policing and defence.
Woman for an Australian Republic, Adelaide Ironside, republican poet and artist 1831-1867
Self portrait 1855, Newcastle Art Gallery NSW
