I don’t know much about Australian affairs, but I dislike seeing what seems to be the capitulation and total domestication of the “Can Do” Aussie spirit.
Surely the spark of freedom exists there somewhere?
Give everybody a one way ticket off the island and let those who remain behind fend for themselves. Give the stayers some copies of the lessons learned by the Plymouth Colony.
The secret ingredient which has leached away is Christian faith, and I don’t mean just the easy peasy praise the Lord at convenience kind.
This looks like social Darwinism, the opposite evil from official government socialism. Churches could be a private factor in ameliorating the harm. This was a microcosm in which they could have stepped forward and it looks like they just failed.
The problem is while a majority of the Islanders don't want the takeover, they do want access to Australia's welfare system. The position of the government is basically that if you want our support, you have to be part of the country. I have some qualms about the takeover myself - but they don't want full independence - they want to pick and choose the bits they like.