MEDIA STATEMENT

For Release on Monday, 1 November 2010

New Zealand MPs to participate in regional Commonwealth Parliamentary Association discussion

New Zealand members of Parliament, Dr Jackie Blue MP and Charles Chauvel MP, will attend the 30th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Australian and Pacific Regional Conference in Canberra, Australian from 2 to 6 November 2010.

The CPA Australia and Pacific Regional Conference is a bi-annual event attended by members of Parliament from 19 Parliaments across the Australia and Pacific region.

Members will consider the response of Parliaments to significant issues within the Australia Pacific region, how they are being dealt with, and the impact on individual parliamentarians.

Both delegates will be presenting papers at the conference. Dr Jackie Blue's paper will address the issue of women and parliamentary representation, while Charles Chauvel will present a paper entitled ‘AIDS, TB and Malaria: Seeking Effective Global and Regional Responses’.

“Our focus as parliamentarians will be on how we can work together to overcome the challenges facing our Australian and Pacific region,” Dr Blue and Mr Chauvel said.

ENDS