New Zealand hosts third Parliamentary Study Programme

Senior parliamentary staff from Pacific Island parliaments are attending the third New Zealand Parliamentary Study Programme in Wellington from 12 to 23 November 2012.

The purpose of the 2-week programme is to contribute to capacity building and to strengthen relationships between parliaments in the Pacific region.  The programme provides an overview of the New Zealand Parliament and the New Zealand political system, as well as giving participants the opportunity to explore their own areas of interest in parliamentary procedure.

Participants from Parliaments in Bougainville, Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu, are attending the study programme.

The programme also gives parliamentary staff the opportunity to engage with their Pacific colleagues and hear of some of the challenges that they face in their work.

During the first week of the programme participants were joined by Ronda Miller, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales, and Tom Duncan, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory. The Australian Clerks discussed the current twinning arrangements that Australian state Parliaments have with several Pacific parliaments, and participated in a panel discussion on the role of the Clerk.