Annual ASPG Conference, 30 September to 2 October 2015

New Zealand’s Parliament is hosting the 2015 Annual Australasian Study of Parliament Group Conference, 30 September – 2 October 2015 in the Legislative Council Chamber.

Dr Therese Arseneau, President of the New Zealand ASPG Chapter, says the conference theme ofModernising Parliament: Rethinking Parliament for the Next Generation is particularly relevant.Conference attendees will hear from an exciting mix of New Zealand, Australian and overseas presenters, including members of Parliament, academics, and political commentators who are experts in their fields. They will bring to the conference insightful and thought-provoking ideas about making Parliament relevant to the next generation. Sessions include:

• Youth MPs presenting their vision for a modern Parliament;

• Panels on making Parliament more inclusive and representative – a ‘peoples’ House’ that engages the public and represents diversity;

• New technology and new ways of operating Parliament, including rethinking standing orders, proceedings and parliamentary privilege;

• A discussion on how parliamentary committees might act as the vehicles for modernisation;

• An international perspective on rethinking Parliament;

• And ways of enhancing public confidence in Parliament, including ethics, transparency and MPs’ professional development.

By way of background, the ASPG is a politically non-partisan organisation that studies the parliaments of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific nations. The ASPG conference is unique; it mixes people at the coal-face of Parliament with those who study it. It is also an excellent forum for informal dialogue, particularly from a trans-Tasman parliamentary perspective, and each session has time set aside for questions and discussion from the floor.

The ASPG annual conference rotates around the various parliaments of Australia and New Zealand. We last hosted this conference in 2006 and are eager to really showcase our Parliament to our Australian visitors.

Registration for the ASPG conference is now open. Information about the conference can be found on the following webpage: New Zealand Parliament - Australasian Study of Parliament Group Conference.

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