PRESS RELEASE – 21 June 2011

Lawyer and Former MP Heads New Transtasman Body

Lawyer and former List MP, Murray Smith, has been elected inaugural president of the Australian and New Zealand International Election Monitors Institute.

The institute is a joint venture by the former MPs associations of NZ (AFMPNZ) and Australia (AFMPA) and will be involved in the monitoring of elections in other democratic nations as well as other democracy-building initiatives, such as providing assistance to parliamentarians in emerging democracies to further their understanding of and contributions to democratic governance.

In addition to Mr Smith, the institute’s Trust Board comprises former New Zealand MPs Graham Kelly and Brent Catchpole (the current AFMPNZ President) as well as the President, Vice-President and Secretary of the AFMPA.

Mr Smith said that, “with over 60 countries becoming democracies in the last 40 years (as well as the current move in that direction by some Arab states) there is a huge opportunity for the new institute to make an impact on the development of sound government structures worldwide”.

The institute will work closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is in the course of affiliating to the International Election Monitors Institute, a joint venture of the US, Canadian and European former MPs associations which has been in operation for about 6 years.

ENDS