Transcript
Papua New Guinea MP Anton Yagama said he was particularly interested in the crucial role of select committees in New Zealand. He said this was in stark contrast with PNG which takes an almost ad hoc approach to select committees.
"Here they have certain days allocated and committees must sit. Back in Papua New Guinea we don't have specific dates and that is one of the flaws for us in Papua New Guinea that I find. So those are the types of things that we learn and see how we can improve on our democratic system."
Anton Yagama said he was also interested in the New Zealand parliament's seating arrangements, which are along party lines. He said in Papua New Guinea's parliament MP seating is loosely based on whether they are with the government or the opposition. MPs from the same party can sometimes find themselves sitting on opposite sides of the house. Mr Yagama says he plans to talk about the New Zealand seating arrangement when he gets back to PNG.
"In a way it is good because it keeps the party together so if they need to pass bills and agreements, the party don't have to go and have another meeting. They can talk to each other on the floor of parliament and get the approval or a wink or a smile to say that it is okay then they can pass the legislation."
Tongan MP 'Akosita Lavulavu who is the only woman in Tonga's 26-member parliament is also attending the forum. She says she was pleased they were able to visit some New Zealand MP's in their electorates in Auckland.
"Because we visited Carmel Sepuloni's office and we had a bit of time there a bit of chatting time about various issues and I found that very interesting and very helpful. We also talked about how we solve the various issues and I mean it is things we can learn about and take back to our country and apply in our own respective countries."
However the Pacific Parliamentary Forum is by no means a one way street when it comes to knowledge sharing. Vanuatu MP Andrew Napuat says he has received a lot of enquiries about the 2015 political upheaval in Vanuatu when 15 mostly government MPs were jailed for bribery, parliament was dissolved and a snap election was called.
"And for us back in Vanuatu I think it was a wake up call for the politicians. Which is basically why in this legislature we got more than half of the members are new Members of Parliament. About 35 of us who were voted in as new members of parliament. So it is a good thing for us."
Mr Napuat says what he found particularly intriguing about New Zealand's parliament was its recognition and engagement with Maori and Pasifika peoples.
"This is something that we should encourage and it is my hope that future politicians continue to treasure this. Because my fear is if we lose this then we might be formulating a society that might not be suitable for the people and especially the generation that is yet to come in the future."
For some delegates the political structures and systems of New Zealand's parliament presented a totally different perspective on legislature. But American Samoan representative Faimealelei Anthony Allen said he still saw similarities around governance and common challenges such as climate change. Faimealelei however said he was also surprised at how much trade his fellow Pacific MPs countries seemed to be involved in.
"You know it is just interesting because every country wanted to trade something to another country. We don't have a lot in American Samoa to trade to other countries but we import a lot. So that is something I need to look at and share with my colleagues back home."
The Pacific Parliamentary Forum wraps up with delegates debating on the floor of New Zealand's parliament on climate change, Pacific resources, security and governance, and Parliament and the community. Earlier in the week the delegates were in Auckland where the focus was on community, business and MP constituency engagement.
