How Parliament works

Relationships with other parliaments

The New Zealand Parliament supports and promotes the development of parliamentary democracy overseas, particularly in the Pacific region. It does this though a programme of inward and outward inter-parliamentary visits, membership of international inter-parliamentary organisations, the establishment of Parliamentary Friendship Groups, and hosting and contributing to parliamentary conferences, workshops and study programmes.

Relationships with other parliaments 1-7 of 7

Inter-parliamentary organisations

Membership of inter-parliamentary organisations supports New Zealand’s contribution to debate on global issues, provides for engagement with the international parliamentary community, and the opportunity for parliamentarians to develop professionally. It also ensures that matters of importance to New Zealand and the Pacific region are included on the agenda of inter-parliamentary organisations.

The New Zealand Parliament is an active member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum.

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s (CPA) mission is to promote the advancement of parliamentary democracy by enhancing knowledge and understanding of democratic governance. It seeks to build an informed parliamentary community able to deepen the commitment to parliamentary democracy in the Commonwealth and to further co-operation amongst its parliaments and legislatures.

Founded in 1911 as the Empire Parliamentary Association (adopting the name CPA in 1948), it is a body with branches in most of the legislatures (at both federal and state level) in the Commonwealth, representing approximately 16,000 parliamentarians.

The CPA pursues its objectives through annual general conferences, professional development seminars, workshops and exchanges, technical assistance to individual parliaments and the provision of specialist information.

Many CPA activities are regionally based and New Zealand is part of the Pacific Region which collaborates with the Australian Region in regular conferences and seminars. The New Zealand Parliament also provides the Secretariat for the CPA Pacific Region, with the regional secretary based in the Parliamentary Relations Secretariat of the Office of the Clerk.

The New Zealand Parliament also has an active CPA Group and a Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Group who meet regularly and facilitate different activities. .

Inter-Parliamentary Union

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), established in 1889, is an international organisation of parliaments of sovereign states. It currently has over 150 national parliaments as members.

As a focal point for world-wide parliamentary dialogue, the IPU works for peace and co-operation among peoples and for the firm establishment of representative democracy. It brings together parliaments and their members from around the globe on a regular basis, representing every political system and all the main political leanings in the world, constituting a unique platform for observing political opinions and trends around the world.

The New Zealand Parliament participates in twice yearly IPU assemblies, which are held in October and around Easter. The New Zealand IPU Group meets regularly and facilitates different activities.

The IPU is also constantly active in its work to promote democracy throughout the world, focusing on representative democracy; international peace and security; sustainable development; human rights and humanitarian law; women in politics; education, science and culture.

Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum

New Zealand was a founder country of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF), which held its first annual meeting in 1992 in Tokyo. There are now 27 member countries.

The APPF acts to promote greater regional identification and cooperation, and supports other regional organisations including the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation group. Of particular focus for the APPF are issues of mutual interest such as trade and security in the region.

New Zealand attends annual meetings of the APPF which are held in January. The 16th meeting of the APPF was hosted by New Zealand and took place in Auckland in 2008.

The aim of the inter-parliamentary relations programme is to enhance international parliamentary democracy and knowledge by facilitating the New Zealand Parliament’s engagement with the global parliamentary community. Part of the programme includes both official and unofficial visits by delegations and individual parliamentarians who visit to learn about our parliamentary practices and procedures.

Inward delegations and visits

2013

Dates	Visitor(s)	Country	Related Documents
25 – 28 March	Hon Thura U Shwe Mann, Speaker of Myanmar Lower House	Myanmar	New Zealand Parliament - Myanmar Speaker visits Parliament

2012

Dates	Visitor(s)	Country	Related Documents
12 – 23 November 2012	New Zealand Parliamentary Study Programme	Bougainville	New Zealand Parliament - New Zealand Parliament hosts study programme for Pacific parliamentary staff
		Kiribati
		Nauru
		Samoa
		Tonga
		Tuvalu
15 – 19 October	Madam Speaker Hon Niki Rattle	Cook Islands	New Zealand Parliament - New Zealand Parliament hosts study programme for Speaker of the Parliament of the Cook Islands
24 – 28 September	Australian National Broadband Network Committee	Australia	Visit by the Australian National Broadband Network Committee
9 – 10 August	Martin Chungong, IPU Director of Programmes
30 July – 3 August	Nuiean Study Programme	Nuie
18 – 19 July	Committee on Judiciary of the National Assembly of Viet Nam	Viet Nam
17 July	Indonesia-New Zealand Bilateral Cooperation Group of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia	Indonesia
5 July	President of the Legislative Council and the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia	Australia
12 – 16 June	Inter-Parliamentary Union Italy-New Zealand Friendship Group, led by Hon Emerenzio Barbieri	Italy
29 April – 4 June	European Union	Europe
13 – 17 April	Parliamentary Delegation led by Meira Kumar, Speaker of the Lok Sabha	India
31 March – 7 April	Parliamentary Delegation led by the Hon Laauli Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt, Speaker	Samoa
23 February	Standing Committee on Local Government and Public Administration	Norway
21 February	Parliamentary Friendship Group	Germany
7 February	Committee on Agriculture	Sweden

2011

Dates	Visitor(s)	Country	Related Documents
1 January–15 September	Reports of the Official Inter-Parliamentary Relations Programme		Report J.2Q
5 October	Hidehisa Otsuji, Deputy Speaker	Japan
14 September	Chair of the Finance Portfolio Committee of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature	South Africa
6 September	David Bakradze, Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia	Georgia
11 August	Special Committee on Budget and Accounts	Republic of Korea
21–22 July	Deputy Speaker Shawkat Ali and Library Committee	Bangladesh
11-14 July	Tarmagi Abdullah, Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore	Singapore	Visiting delegation from Singaporean Parliament
11-14 July	Tarmagi Abdullah, Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore	Singapore	Speaker of Singapore Parliament to visit Parliament this week
20–23 June	Rt Hon Sir Kamuta Latasi, Speaker of the Parliament of Tuvalu	Tuvalu	Delegation from Tuvalu to observe New Zealand’s parliamentary system
14 June	Senate Standing Committee on Education	Thailand
6–10 June	Senate Standing Committee on Rural Affairs and Transport	Australia	Australian and New Zealand Parliaments continue to maintain close links
30 May–10 June	Study Programme for Pacific Region Clerks	Bougainville	New Zealand hosts second Parliamentary Study Programme
		Cook Islands
		Nauru
		Samoa
		Solomon Islands	New Zealand Parliament hosts study programme for Pacific Clerks
		Tonga
		Tuvalu
		Vanuatu
11–13 May	Delegation from the France—NZ Parliamentary Friendship Group of the Senate	France	French parliamentary delegation returns a preserved Māori head
3–6 April	Reuven Rivlin, Speaker of the Knesset	Israel	Delegation led by Israeli Speaker visits New Zealand Parliament
23 March	Services Committee of the House of Regional Representatives	Indonesia
6–11 March	Aboriginal and Torre Strait Islander Committee	Australia	Visiting Australian Committee for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs
22 February	Committee on Transport and Telecommunications	Norway
21–25 February	CPA United Kingdom Branch	United Kingdom
15–16 February	Select committee on Tourism of the Legislative Council of Tasmania	Australia (Tasmania)

2010

Dates	Visitor(s)	Country	Related Documents
1 January–31 December 2010	Reports of the Official Inter-Parliamentary Relations Programme		Report J.2M
22 November	Hon Huang Zhendong, Chair of the Internal and Judicial Affairs Committee	China
16 November	Portfolio Committee on Agriculture of the Legislature of KwaZulu-Natal	South Africa
6 September	Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs	Norway
19 August	Committee for Agriculture, Forestry, Marine Affairs and Fisheries	Indonesia
9–10 August	IPU meeting of Pacific Parliaments	Australia
		Cook Islands
		Kiribati
		Marshall Islands
		Micronesia
		Nauru
		Niue
		Palau
		Samoa
		Timor-Leste
		Tonga
		Tuvalu
		Vanuatu
30 June–1 July	His Excellency Uong Chu Luu, Vice President of the National Assembly	Viet Nam
23–24 June	Review of Parliamentary Committee System Committee	Australia(Queensland)
8–18 June	Study Programme for Pacific Region Clerks	Cook Islands	NZ Parliament hosts study programme for Pacific Clerks
		Kiribati
		Samoa
		Solomon Islands	Study Programme for Pacific Region Clerks
		Tonga
		Tuvalu
15 June	Environment and Resource Committee	Australia (Queensland)
25–27 May	Scrutiny of Legislation Committee	Australia (Queensland)
12 May	National People’s Congress Research Department delegation	China
28 March–1 April	Delegation to Australia and New Zealand	European Parliament	European delegation to visit New Zealand Parliament
24 March	Qiangba Puncog, Chairman of the Standing Committee, People’s Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region	China
2 March	Committee for Financial-Budgetary Affairs	Vietnam
6–9 February	His Excellency Přemysl Sobotka, President of the Senate	Czech Republic	Czech trade group in Auckland for discussions

2009

Dates	Visitor(s)	Country	Related Documents
1 January–31 December 2009	Reports of the Official Inter-Parliamentary Relations Programme		Report J.2I
1 January–31 December 2009			Compendium of Inter-Parliamentary Relations reports presented
16–17 December	Education Policy Reform Committee	Japan
13–18 December	CPA Branch delegation	Canada
6-9 December	Dr William F Shija,Secretary-General, CPA		New Zealand has key role on Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
8 December	Legislative Council Committee	Australia(Tasmania)
2–6 November	18th CPA Australian and Pacific Regional Seminar	Australia (all states)	Parliamentary delegates from Australia and the Pacific gather in Wellington
		Bougainville
		Cook Islands
		Kiribati
		Nauru	Pacific countries face imminent peril from natural disasters MP tells Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
		Papua New Guinea
		Samoa
		Tonga
19–23 October	Alex Ferguson, Presiding Officer of the Parliament	Scotland	Visit by Scottish parliamentarians
22 September	Ni Yuefeng, Vice Chairman of the Environment Protection and Resources Conservation Committee	China
15 September	Council of Young Political Leaders	United States
10 September	Chairman's Leadership Forum	United States
6–12 September	Joint Parliamentary Delegation	Brazil	Brazilian Parliamentary delegation pays visit
24 September	Political Exchange Delegation	Australia
27 August	Audit Committee	Finland
25–28 August	Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories	Australia	New Zealand role in Antarctic part of Australian committee visit
25 August	Andrew Rosindell, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs	UK
20 August	Honourable Steven Fletcher, Minister of State for Democratic Reform of the House of Commons	Canada
6 August	Hon Datuk Ronald Kiandee, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives	Malaysia
30–31 July	Privileges Committee	Australia (Queensland)
27 July–1 August	Hon Tu'ilakepa, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly	Tonga
2 July	National Assembly's Committee of Defence and Security	Vietnam
28 June–3 July	Senator the Hon John Hogg, President of the Senate	Australia
27 May	Madame Chen Zhili, Vice-Chairwoman of the Standing Committee	China
26 May	His Excellency Chai Chidchob, President of the National Assembly and Speaker of the House of Representatives	Thailand
6–9 April	Secondment to the Office of the Clerk by Edwin Kenehata, Education Officer	Bougainville
31 March	House of Commons Health Select Committee	UK
10–12 February	Electoral Matters Committee	Australia (Victoria)
16 January	His Excellency Prasobsook Boondech, President of the Senate	Thailand

The aim of the inter-parliamentary relations programme is to enhance international parliamentary democracy and knowledge by facilitating the New Zealand Parliament’s engagement with the global parliamentary community. Part of this programme includes bilateral visits to other parliaments and participation by members at international parliamentary conferences, seminars, exchanges and professional development events.

Outward delegations and visits

2013

Leader of delegation denoted by italics

Dates	Event	Delegates	Related Documents
22-27 March	128th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly, Quito, Ecuador	Hon Tau Henare	New Zealand Parliament - New Zealand MPs participate in Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly
		Louisa Wall
		Jan Logie
9-10 February	Pacific Women’s Parliamentary Partnerships Forum	Dr Jackie Blue	New Zealand Parliament - New Zealand Members of Parliament Support Pacific Women in Parliamentary Partnerships Forum
		Louisa Wall
		Asenati Lole-Taylor
27-31 January	21st Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) and bilateral visit to Republic of Korea	Lindsay Tisch	New Zealand Parliament - New Zealand parliamentarians to undertake bilateral visit and attend regional parliamentary forum
		Iain Lees-Galloway
		Denis Roche

2012

Dates	Event	Delegates	Related Documents
17-24 November	Australia and Pacific Regional CPA Conference	Moana Mackey	New Zealand Parliament - New Zealand Parliamentarians attend Regional Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference
17-24 November	Australia and Pacific Regional CPA Conference	Hon Dr Nick Smith
6-10 November	CPA/WBI Study Group on Public Accounts Committees	Paul Goldsmith	New Zealand Parliament - Paul Goldsmith MP to attend Study Group on Public Accounts Committees
6-8 November	CPA UK International Parliamentary Conference on Gender and Politics, London	Nicky Wagner	New Zealand Parliament - Nicky Wagner MP to attend International Parliamentary Conference on Gender and Politics
22-26 October	127th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly, Québec City, Canada	Hon Tau Henare	New Zealand Parliament - New Zealand MPs participate in Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly
		Hon Damien O’Connor	New Zealand Parliament - New Zealand Parliamentarian elected to Middle East Diplomacy Committee
		Julie Anne Genter	New Zealand Parliament - Parliamentarians need to “share the vision” with indigenous peoples
3-5 October	ASPG Conference, Darwin, Australia	Charles ChauvelLouise Upston	New Zealand Parliament - New Zealand MPs Travel to Darwin for Australasian Study of Parliament Group Annual Conference
10-15 September	58th CPA Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference, Sri Lanka	Hon Annette King	Delegation Report J.2D
		Hon Annette King	NZ MPs join parliamentarians to ensure a relevant Commonwealth for the future
		Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi	New Zealand Parliament - New Zealand parliamentarians support women's agenda at Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference
		Le’aufa’amulia Asenati Lole-Taylor
23-27 July	Pacific Mission	Rt Hon Winston Peters
		John Hayes
		Su’a William Sio
		Jan Logie

		Alfred Ngaro
23-27 July	43rd Conference of Regional Presiding Officers and Clerks and the Twinning Conference	Lindsay Tisch	New Zealand Parliament - Assistant Speaker to attend regional conference in the Solomon Islands
1-14 July	Speaker-led Delegation to United Kingdom, Croatia and Belgium	Dr The Rt Hon Lockwood Smith	Delegation Report J.2C
		Darien Fenton	Speakers’ delegation visit boosts NZ – Europe ties
		Melissa Lee
		Gareth Hughes
		Denis O’Rourke
24-30 May	23 rd CPA Commonwealth Parliamentary SeminarApia, Samoa	Jonathan Young	New Zealand Parliament - NZ MP to join Commonwealth parliamentarians in Samoa
31 March - 5 April	126th IPU AssemblyKampala, Uganda	Hon Tau Henare	Report J.2B
		Hon Tau Henare	Parliamentarians to attend 126th IPU Assembly in Kampala, Uganda
		Louisa Wall	New Zealand MPs promote indigenous participation and representation
		Jan Logie	New Zealand MPs’ commitment to universal human rights
5–10 March	61st Westminster Seminar on Parliamentary Practice and ProcedureLondon, United Kingdom	Hon Trevor Mallard	MPs attend annual Westminster Seminar
5–10 March		Richard Prosser	MPs attend annual Westminster Seminar
8–12 January	20th Annual Meeting of the APPFTokyo, Japan	Lindsay Tisch	New Zealand to attend parliamentary forum in Tokyo
7–12 January	21st Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	Dr The Rt Hon Lockwood Smith	Report J.2A
7–12 January		Dr The Rt Hon Lockwood Smith	Speaker to represent NZ at Commonwealth Conference

2011

Dates	Event	Delegates	Related Documents
1 January – 15 September 2011	Reports of the Official Inter-Parliamentary Relations Programme		Report J.2Q
26–28 July	Australia-New Zealand Scrutiny of Legislation ConferenceBrisbane, Australia	Hon Lianne Dalziel	Committee Report I.16L
		Tim Macindoe
21–28 July	57th CPA ConferenceLondon, United Kingdom	Shane Ardern
		Lynne Pillay
		Kanwaljit Bakshi Singh
12–15 July	Pacific Mission to Tonga, Samoa, Cook Islands and Niue	John Hayes
		Su’a William Sio
10–15 July	42nd Conference of Presiding Officers and Clerks from Australia and the Pacific Brisbane, Australia	Eric Roy	Assistant Speaker to attend regional conference
23 May – 2 June	Speaker’s Delegation to Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Chile	Dr The Rt Hon Lockwood Smith	Delegation Report J.2P
		Dr Paul Hutchison	Speakers’ delegation visit boosts NZ – Latin America ties
		Hon Maryan Street	New Zealand business and parliamentary connections to be strengthened in Latin America
		Stuart Nash
23–27 May	Social Services Joint Committee Exchange with Australia Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane	Katrina Shanks	Social Services Committee to visit Australia for Committee Exchange
		Chester Borrows	Committee Report I.12A
		Tim Macindoe
		Dr Rajen Prasad
		Su’a William Sio
4–6 May	WTO-TFCTN Parliamentarian workshop on International Trade Singapore	Jacqui Dean	Select committee members to attend WTO international trade workshop
		Hon Maryan Street
27–30 April	Australasian Council of Public Accounts CommitteesPerth, Australia	Craig Foss	Attendance of Finance and Expenditure Committee members at 11th biennial conference of Australasian Council of Public Accounts Committees
		Brendon Burns	Committee Report
11–21 April	124th IPU Assembly and Bilateral Visit to the Parliament of Mexico	Hon Pete Hodgson	MPs discuss trade and opportunities for New Zealand with Mexican counterparts
		Su’a William Sio	Delegation Report J.20
7–12 March	60th Westminster Seminar on Parliamentary Practice and ProcedureLondon, United Kingdom	Clare Curran	MPs to participate in Parliamentary Procedure Seminar in Westminster
		Dr Cam Calder
19–26 January	19th Annual Meeting of the APPF and bilateral visit to China Ulan Bataar, Mongolia and Beijing, China	Lindsay Tisch	NZ delegation to attend 19th Meeting of the APPF in Mongolia
			Parliamentary relations with New Zealand important to China
		Dr Rajen Prasad	Mongolia keen to learn from New Zealand’s MMP experiences
		Tim Macindoe	Delegation Report J.2N

2010

Dates	Event	Delegates	Related Documents
1 January – 31 December 2010	Reports of the Official Inter-Parliamentary Relations Programme		Report J.2M
15–26 November	5th CPA UK International Parliamentary Governance Seminar London and Wales, United Kingdom, and Brussels, Belgium	Grant Robertson	MP to attend 5th International Parliamentary Governance Seminar
2–6 November	30th CPA Australian and Pacific Regional Conference Canberra, Australian	Dr Jackie Blue	NZ MPs to participate in regional Commonwealth Parliamentary Association discussion
		Charles Chauvel	More women MPs needed in Pacific Parliaments & urgent funding required to fight HIV, TB and Malaria
31 October–3 November	International Parliamentary Conference on Minorities and Indigenous Peoples Chiapas, Mexico	Rahui Katene	NZ MP to talk on participation of minorities and indigenous peoples
17–23 October	8th Canadian CPA Parliamentary Seminar, Ottawa, Canada	Darien Fenton	NZ MPs to attend Canadian Parliamentary Seminar
		Melissa Lee
29 September – 6 October	Bilateral visit to the Parliament of Italy and 123rd IPU Assembly, Rome, Italy and Geneva, Switzerland	Hon Pete Hodgson	Delegation Report J.2K
			Parliamentarians Building International Links for New Zealand
		Jacqui Dean	Links with Italy strengthened by parliamentary visit
		David Clendon	NZ MPs host meeting on cluster munitions
25 September – 10 October	Speaker’s Delegation to Spain, Turkey and Israel	Dr The Rt Hon Lockwood Smith	NZ business interests to be explored in Spain
		Hon Darren Hughes	Speaker receives warm welcome in Spain
		Chris Tremain	Speaker’s delegation concludes successful visit to Spain
		David Shearer	Relations between New Zealand and Turkey strong
			Speaker’s Tour comes to an end in Israel with a positive balance
13–23 September	56th CPA Conference and bilateral visit to the United Arab Emirates Nairobi, Kenya and Dubai and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	Metiria Turei	Delegation Report J.2J
			NZ MPs join Commonwealth parliamentarians in tackling global issues
		Craig Foss	NZ MPs make their presence felt at Commonwealth conference
		Hon Maryan Street	MPs’ visit raises New Zealand profile in the United Arab Emirates
30 August – 4 September	Pacific Mission to Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Samoa	Dr Paul Hutchison
		Hon Shane Jones
		Su’a William Sio
		Dr Cam Calder
		Gareth Hughes
9–11 August	New Zealand Parliamentary Delegation visit to Tonga Nuku’alofa, Tonga	Eric Roy	Delegation visit to Tonga for discussions on democracy
		Hon Maryan Street
		Katrina Shanks
		Keith Locke
		Chris Hipkins
5–7 August	ASPG Conference Canberra, Australia	Sandra Goudie	MP’s to discuss perceptions of parliament at ASPG conference
		Su’a William Sio
13–17 July	CPA Commonwealth Parliamentary Whips Network Sydney, Australia	Jo Goodhew	NZ Parliament represented at Commonwealth whips meeting
3–9 July	41st Conference of Presiding Officers and Clerks of Australia and the Pacific Darwin, Australia	Lindsay Tisch	Youth Parliament paper to be presented at Speakers and Clerks Conference
4–6 July	Mid-Term Meeting of the Australasian Council of Public Accounts CommitteesTasmania, Australia	Craig Foss	Finance and Expenditure Committee at mid-term meeting of Australasian Council of Public Accounts Committees
			Delegation Report ACPAC
2–5 June	CPA Pacific Workshop on International Trade and Trade Policy Apia, Samoa	Shane Ardern	Commonwealth parliamentary workshop in Apia
		Hon Luamanuvao Winnie Laban
22 March –1 April	Bilateral visit to the National Assembly of South Korea, Seoul, Korea and 122nd IPU Assembly Bangkok, Thailand	Hon Pete Hodgson	IPU delegation gets young peoples views on youth participation
		Dr Cam Calder	Delegation to strengthen New Zealand’s links with Korea and the IPU
		David Clendon	NZ Parliament delegation promotes trade with Korea
			Delegation Report J.2H
8–19 March	59th Westminster Seminar: Parliamentary Practice and Procedures Seminar London, United Kingdom	Allan Peachey	Westminster Seminar
8–11 March	Health Joint Committee Exchange with Australia, Canberra and Brisbane	Dr Paul Hutchison	Visit of the Health Committee to Australia, 8 to 11 March 2010
		Hon Ruth Dyson
		Eric Roy
		Nicky Wagner
		Michael Woodhouse	Delegation Report I.6C
		Hon Luamanuvao Winnie Laban
		Iain Lees-Galloway
31 January – 6 February	CPA UK International Parliamentary Conference on Peacebuilding: Tackling State Fragility London, United Kingdom	Moana Mackey	Discussing Parliament’s role in establishing peace and security
		Jacqui Dean
17–22 January	18th Annual Meeting of the APPF Singapore	Lindsay Tisch	Delegation Report J.2G
		Charles Chauvel	NZ delegation to attend parliamentary forum in Singapore
			Global economic crisis and climate change, key themes at Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum
4–7 January	20th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth New Delhi, India	Hon Dr Lockwood Smith	Delegation Report J.2F
			Speaker to represent NZ at Commonwealth Conference

2009

Dates	Event	Delegates	Related Documents
1 January – 31 December 2009	Reports of the Official Inter-Parliamentary Relations Programme		Report J.2I
			Compendium of Inter-Parliamentary Relations Reports
			Press Release
8–21 November	CPA UK Branch 4th International Governance Seminar London, Brussels and Edinburgh	Kelvin Davis	MP to attend governance seminar
18–24 October	7th Canadian CPA Parliamentary Seminar Ottawa, Canada	Dr Paul Hutchison
18–24 October	7th Canadian CPA Parliamentary Seminar Ottawa, Canada	Sue Moroney
13–22 October	Visit to European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium and 121st IPU Assembly Geneva, Switzerland	Hone Harawira	Delegation Report J.2C
		Katrina Shanks	Reinforcing ties with Europe and Parliamentary Union
		Dr Rajen Prasad	NZ Parliament builds on European links
1–6 October	55th CPA Annual Conference Arusha, Tanzania	Shane Ardern	Delegation Report J.2D
		Sue Kedgley	Link with commonwealth parliaments
		Carmel Sepuloni	Samoa asks NZ to chair workshop as they head home from commonwealth parliamentary conference in Tanzania
			Parliamentarians visit New Zealand VSA volunteers in Tanzania
17–19 September	ASPG Conference Hobart, Tasmania	Chris Auchinvole
17–19 September	ASPG Conference Hobart, Tasmania	Charles Chauvel
10–14 August	Primary Production Joint Committee Exchange with Australia Canberra, Adelaide and Port Lincoln	Shane Ardern	Committee Report I.11A
		Sandra Goudie
		Colin King
		Brendon Burns
		Hon Damien O’Connor
		Dr Ashraf Choudhary
7–11 July	Commonwealth Regional Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference Tarawa, Kiribati	Lindsay Tisch
7–10 July	Pacific Mission to Tonga, Samoa, Niue and the Cook Islands	John Hayes	Committee Report 1.4A
		Jacqui Dean	Select committee to visit the Pacific
		Dr Paul Hutchison
		Todd McClay
		Hon Luamanuvao Winnie Laban
		HV Ross Robertson
		Carmel Sepuloni
6–8 July	Australia-New Zealand Scrutiny of Legislation Conference Canberra, Australia	Charles Chauvel	Committee Report I.16D
6–8 July		Amy Adams	Committee Report I.16D
21–26 June	Westminster Visit London, United Kingdom	Amy Adams	Inter-parliamentary visit to the UK
		Carol Beaumont
		Dr Kennedy Graham
		Rahui Katene
		Iain Lees-Galloway
		Michael Woodhouse
24–30 May	21st CPA Parliamentary Seminar Sydney, Australia	Clare Curran
15–25 April	Speaker’s Delegation to Japan and Vietnam	Hon Dr Lockwood Smith	Parliamentary Delegation led by the Speaker to Vietnam and Japan
		Dr Ashraf Choudhary	Strong relations build support for business
		Nicky Wagner	New Zealand – Viet Nam relations in strong shape says Speaker
		Raymond Huo	Showcase of New Zealand education in Ho Chi Minh City
		John Boscawen	Strength in New Zealand - Japan Relationship, says Speaker
			Potential for forging agriculture links with Japan
			Delegation Report J.2E
3–10 April	120th IPU Assembly Addis Ababa, Ethiopia	Simon Bridges	Delegation Report J.2B
		Nikki Kaye
		Stuart Nash
1–13 March	58th Westminster Seminar: Parliamentary Practice and Procedures SeminarLondon, United Kindgdom	Eric Roy
2–7 February	CPA UK Branch International Parliamentary Conference: International Migration and Human Trafficking London, United Kingdom	Dr Jackie Blue
2–7 February		Su’a William Sio
11–15 January	17th Annual Meeting of the APPF Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic	Lindsay Tisch	Delegation Report J.2A
		Metiria Turei	NZ delegation to attend 17th Meeting of the APPF in Laos
		Chris Hipkins	NZ delegation discusses regional cooperation
4–7 January	Conference of Commonwealth Speakers and Presiding Officers – Steering Committee Meeting Mozambique	Lindsay Tisch

More than 70 Pacific parliamentarians and political leaders gathered at the New Zealand Parliament between 18 and 22 April 2013 for the Pacific Parliamentary and Political Leaders Forum – the first of its kind.

A core objective of the gathering was to promote stronger cooperation, collaboration and political cohesion amongst new and merging political leaders from the South Pacific and to strengthen their relations with New Zealand Parliamentarians.

The Forum is the result of the unanimous recommendation made in 2010 by the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee that the “The House expand its relations with Pacific Parliamentarians, setting aside a week of the New Zealand Parliament’s time to host them and focus on “pacific issues” of concern to the neighbourhood and domestically, and issues of common regional interest”.

All Pacific countries were invited to the Forum along with leaders from states like Fiji, Tokelau and New Caledonia which do not have parliaments. Invitations were extended to emerging leaders, women and younger parliamentarians. The Forum started on Thursday 18 April with a Parliamentary debate, after questions for oral answer, on Pacific issues by members of the House of Representatives. A Hansard transcript of this debate can be accessed from New Zealand Parliament - Debate On Pacific Issues

The Forum continued until 22 April with a mix of seminars and debates between New Zealand MPs and those from the region. The public attended the parliamentary debates in the House’s public gallery.

The Forum discussed a range of issues of particular importance to the Pacific, including: environmental issues and climate change, global economic outlook and implications for the region, the importance of parliament and sound governance to the development of business and job creation, gender equality and the gender balance of parliaments, problems of isolation and delivery of services to remote communities, media, health, and the importance of parliament to local communities.

There were also eight debates by Pacific parliamentarians and political leaders that covered each of these issues. A Hansard transcript of the Forum debates is attached to the Forum Outcome Statement.

Outcome statement [PDF 1367k]

Parliamentary Friendship Groups are informal groups of members of Parliament who organise themselves to promote parliamentary relations between the New Zealand Parliament and other parliaments. They play an important role in New Zealand’s engagement in inter-parliamentary relations, with group members often called upon to participate and host meetings for visiting delegations.

Friendship Groups do not speak for the Government or New Zealand Parliament, and they are self-regulating and self-fulfilling.

Parliamentary Friendship Groups — 50th Parliament

Australia / Pacific

New Zealand — Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group

Chairperson: Denise Roche

New Zealand — Pacific Parliamentary Friendship Group

Chairperson: Alfred Ngaro

Co Deputy Chairperson: Su’a William Sio

Co Deputy Chairperson: Asenati Lole-Taylor

The Americas

New Zealand — Canada Parliamentary Friendship Group

Co Chairperson: Dr Rajen Prasad

Co Chairperson: Melissa Lee

New Zealand — Latin America Parliamentary Friendship Group

Chairperson: Trevor Mallard

New Zealand — USA Parliamentary Friendship Group

Co Chairperson: Hon Shane Jones

Co Chairperson: Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga

Europe

New Zealand — European Union

Chairperson: Paul Goldsmith

New Zealand — France

Co Chairperson: Moana Mackey

Co Chairperson: Dr Cam Calder

New Zealand — Germany

Chairperson: Paul Goldsmith

New Zealand — Ireland

Co Chairperson: Chris Hipkins

Co Chairperson: Simon O’Connor

New Zealand — Italy

Chairperson: Dr Paul Hutchison

New Zealand — Poland

Chairperson: Simon Bridges

Deputy Chairperson: Hon Maryan Street

Secretary: Paul Goldsmith

New Zealand — Russia

Chairperson: David Bennett

New Zealand — Scotland

Co-Chairperson: Chris Auchinvole

Middle East

New Zealand — Israel

Chairperson: Dr Paul Hutchison

New Zealand — Middle East

Chairperson: Mark Mitchell

New Zealand — Turkey

Chairperson: John Hayes

Africa

New Zealand — Africa

Co-Chairperson: Hon Maryan Street

Co-Chairperson: Mark Mitchell

New Zealand — Southern Africa

Chairperson: John Hayes

Asia

New Zealand — China

Co-Chairperson: Dr Jian Yang

Co-Chairperson: Raymond Huo

New Zealand — Hong Kong

Chairperson: John Hayes

Deputy Chairperson: Hon Maryan Street

New Zealand — India

Co Chairperson: Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi

Co Chairperson: Dr Rajen Prasad

Secretary: Dr Jackie Blue

New Zealand — Indonesia

Co Chairperson: HV Ross Robertson

Co Chairperson: Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi

Secretary: Le’aufa’amulia Asenati Lole-Taylor

New Zealand — Japan

Chairperson: Hon Dr Nick Smith

Deputy Chairperson: Hon Lianne Dalziel

Secretary: Le’aufa’amulia Asenati Lole-Taylor

New Zealand — Korea

Chairperson: Melissa Lee

New Zealand — Pakistan

Chairperson: HV Ross Robertson

Secretary: Barbara Stewart

New Zealand — Singapore

Chairperson: Moana Mackey

New Zealand — Sri Lanka

Chairperson: Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi

Secretary: Dr Jackie Blue

New Zealand — Viet Nam

Chairperson: Hon Damien O’Connor

Deputy Chairperson and Secretary: Andrew Williams

Friendship Groups do not speak for the Government or New Zealand Parliament, and they are self-regulating and self-fulfilling.

Parliamentary Friendship Groups — 50th Parliament

Australia / Pacific

New Zealand — Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group

Chairperson: Denise Roche

New Zealand — Pacific Parliamentary Friendship Group

Chairperson: Alfred Ngaro

Co Deputy Chairperson: Su’a William Sio

Co Deputy Chairperson: Asenati Lole-Taylor

The Americas

New Zealand — Canada Parliamentary Friendship Group

Co Chairperson: Dr Rajen Prasad

Co Chairperson: Melissa Lee

New Zealand — Latin America Parliamentary Friendship Group

Chairperson: Trevor Mallard

New Zealand — USA Parliamentary Friendship Group

Co Chairperson: Hon Shane Jones

Co Chairperson: Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga

Europe

New Zealand — European Union

Chairperson: Charles Chauvel

New Zealand — France

Co Chairperson: Moana Mackey

Co Chairperson: Dr Cam Calder

New Zealand — Germany

Chairperson: Paul Goldsmith

New Zealand — Ireland

Co Chairperson: Chris Hipkins

Co Chairperson: Simon O’Connor

New Zealand — Italy

Chairperson: Dr Paul Hutchison

New Zealand — Poland

Chairperson: Simon Bridges

Deputy Chairperson: Hon Maryan Street

Secretary: Paul Goldsmith

New Zealand — Russia

Chairperson: David Bennett

New Zealand — Scotland

Co-Chairperson: Chris Auchinvole

Middle East

New Zealand — Israel

Chairperson: Dr Paul Hutchison

New Zealand — Middle East

Chairperson: Mark Mitchell

New Zealand — Turkey

Chairperson: John Hayes

Africa

New Zealand — Africa

Co-Chairperson: Hon Maryan Street

Co-Chairperson: Mark Mitchell

New Zealand — Southern Africa

Chairperson: John Hayes

Asia

New Zealand — China

Co-Chairperson: Dr Jian Yang

Co-Chairperson: Raymond Huo

New Zealand — Hong Kong

Chairperson: John Hayes

Deputy Chairperson: Hon Maryan Street

New Zealand — India

Co Chairperson: Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi

Co Chairperson: Dr Rajen Prasad

Secretary: Dr Jackie Blue

New Zealand — Indonesia

Co Chairperson: HV Ross Robertson

Co Chairperson: Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi

Secretary: Le’aufa’amulia Asenati Lole-Taylor

New Zealand — Japan

Chairperson: Hon Dr Nick Smith

Deputy Chairperson: Hon Lianne Dalziel

Secretary: Le’aufa’amulia Asenati Lole-Taylor

New Zealand — Korea

Chairperson: Melissa Lee

New Zealand — Pakistan

Chairperson: HV Ross Robertson

Secretary: Barbara Stewart

New Zealand — Singapore

Chairperson: Moana Mackey

New Zealand — Sri Lanka

Chairperson: Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi

Secretary: Dr Jackie Blue

New Zealand — Viet Nam

Chairperson: Hon Damien O’Connor

Deputy Chairperson and Secretary: Andrew Williams

The New Zealand Parliament’s relationships with other parliamentary organisations are managed through the Parliamentary Relations Secretariat of the Office of the Clerk. The Secretariat provides inter-parliamentary policy and strategy advice to the Speaker, members of Parliament and the Clerk of the House.

Inward visits

The New Zealand Parliament hosts and receives various visitors every year who visit to learn about our parliamentary practices and procedures.

Visitors include:

Presiding Officers of other Parliaments or parliamentary organisations
Select Committees
Friendship Groups
Members of Parliament
Parliamentary Officials.

Outward visits

The New Zealand Parliament participates in inter-parliamentary events each year. Through this programme Presiding Officers and delegations of members of Parliament attend conferences and seminars of inter-parliamentary organisations of which the New Zealand Parliament is a member. They also participate in bilateral visits to other parliaments, select committee conferences and exchanges, and professional development events.

Inter-parliamentary organisations

As a member of the international parliamentary community, it is important that New Zealand members of Parliament participate actively in a range of engagements with other parliaments, especially those in the Pacific region. A means of doing this is through membership of inter-parliamentary organisations.

The New Zealand Parliament is an active member of the following inter-parliamentary organisations:

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
Inter-Parliamentary Union
Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum.

Parliamentary Friendship Groups

Parliamentary conferences

The New Zealand Parliament hosts and contributes to various inter-parliamentary conferences.

In August 2006, New Zealand hosted the 28th CPA Australia and Pacific Regional Conference
In January 2008, New Zealand hosted the 16th Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum meeting
In October 2009, New Zealand hosted the 18th CPA Australian and Pacific Regional Seminar.