Office of the Speaker of the NZ House of Representatives
Rt Hon Trevor Mallard

MEDIA RELEASE
Monday 5 November 2018

New Zealand represented at Commonwealth meeting to advance democratic governance

New Zealand MP Clayton Mitchell will join representatives of the nine regions at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Executive Committee Meeting this week. Each region of the CPA (Africa, Asia, Australia, British Islands and Mediterranean, Canada, Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic, India, Pacific, South-East Asia) has representatives on the CPA Executive Committee, tasked with the management of the activities and business of the Association.

Rt Hon Trevor Mallard, Speaker of the NZ Parliament, said that:

“The CPA brings together over 180 branches in parliaments from across the Commonwealth, consolidating relationships between thousands of MPs and promoting good governance and sustainable development for the millions of people we serve. New Zealand is a founding member of the CPA, and I am pleased that Mr Mitchell is active in the financial management of the Association and will advocate for innovation and resourcing for programmes in the Pacific region.”

Mr Mitchell will also attend the launch of the CPA Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures at Westminster. These are the benchmarks that set out fundamental principles and standards to guide all Commonwealth parliaments and identify the needs of parliaments before they receive development assistance. They can also be used to measure the progress of parliaments, and self-assessment can identify areas for development, including aspirational improvement on benchmarks already reached.

Mr Speaker noted that “all parliaments require institutional maintenance to ensure they are well-positioned to contribute effectively to the evolving demands of governance and to effectively hold governments to account. New Zealand was involved in the drafting and I am pleased we will have representation at the launch. We look forward to their implementation as a useful tool for all legislatures.”

The CPA Executive Committee will be held in London, United Kingdom, 5 to 9 November 2018. The Pacific Region is currently represented on the Executive Committee by the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Samoa, and New Zealand.
ENDS

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