Aboriginal Shire of Palm Island  The Aboriginal Shire of Palm Island is a special local government area of Queensland, Australia, managed by the Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council under a Deed of Grant in Trust granted to the community on 27 October 1986. The local council was previously the Palm Island Community Council, which had far fewer powers. The shire is located on the Palm Island group, off the north Queensland coast near the city of Townsville. Ten of the twelve Islands in the Greater Palm Island Group come under the control of the Shire – Palm Island, Fantome Island, Curacoa Island, Havannah Island, Brisk Island, Esk Island, Falcon Island, Eclipse Island, Barber Island, Fly Island – plus a few rocks (Dido Rock, Hayman Rock, Chilcott Rocks, Paluma Rock), but neither Orpheus Island nor Pelorus Island, are within its borders, and Albino Rock belongs to Orpheus Island National Park. At the local government elections on 28 March 2020, a new mayor, Mislam Sam, was elected. After the "Land Act (Aboriginal and Islander Land Grants) Amendment Act 1982" had established a system for granting a Deed of Grant in Trust (DOGIT) rather than land title to Indigenous councils, the "Community Services (Aborigines) Act 1984" (Qld) was effected in order to transfer land currently under the administration of the Queensland Government to locally elected Aboriginal councils, giving Aboriginal councils powers and responsibilities similar to other local governments in Queensland. On 30 March 1985, the Palm Island Aboriginal Council, with five councillors elected by the community, was established. Under the "Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (Land Holding) Act 1985", Palm Island was among the first DOGITs received. It meant that the new autonomous Council would hold a perpetual lease over the former Aboriginal reserve lands on Great Palm Island and the ten surrounding islands of the group. The council area was transferred on 27 October 1986 to the trusteeship of the council under a DOGIT. Self-appointed "president" of Palm Island, Jeremy Geia, symbolically declared independence from Australia in 2001. The "Peoples Democratic Republic of Palm Island" was an expression of grievances against the Australian and Queensland Governments for neglect of Palm Islanders. The Palm Island Council received qualified audits for the financial years 1999–2000, 2002–03 and 2003–04, and unqualified audits for 2000–01 and 2001–02. In October 2003 the Council was dissolved and an administrator was appointed until the March 2004 election.