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