Transcript
"You don't have any other colleagues doing the same work, so really in order for us to get professional development, to share ideas with people who have similar experiences it's a useful thing for us to get together."
So, on a blustery winter's week, dozens of speakers and clerks from around the region -- from Federated States of Micronesia, to Australia, to Tonga --gathered in Wellington.
They sat through speeches, workshops and lunches, gathering over tea and cookies to share experiences in a bid to glean fresh ideas to take home.
One of the delegates was Tetangi Matapo, an MP from the Cook Islands, whose floral 'ei brightened the cream and brown of the windowless corridors of New Zealand's parliament.
"As a member of parliament, I have always viewed speakers and clerks as just people sitting at the front keeping our parliament in order. It has been eye opening. I learnt more about their work and how they connect us to our jobs."
Of particular interest for Ms Matapo is how parliament communicates what it does, so that people care.
The MP for Mangaia said the Cook Islands parliament needs to work harder to get communities involved in politics -- particularly women, the youth and those in the isolated outer islands.
"If you are from an outer island in the north or the south, not everybody has television or radio. So to bridge that gap we need to come up with some ways of connecting to the people, because some people just see us people who make a lot of noise in parliament."
The theme of this year's gathering is inclusiveness: how do the region's parliaments become more accessible, representative and family friendly?
While it's a firm aim for New Zealand's speaker, Trevor Mallard, there's a lot of work to be done in the Pacific.
In many countries, women's representation is poor, and parliaments don't have the resources for TV channels, websites and apps -- let alone Virtual Reality tours.
Then there's the precarious juggle of tradition and the imposed Westminster system.
But David Wilson said it's not about New Zealand and Australia preaching.
"I mean we've certainly learned of challenges and we've shared ideas, and we're also aware that there's a huge variation in the size of some of these institutions and in the resources available to them, and I think that's why people need to find solutions that work for their own countries."
The clerk of Vanuatu's parliament, Leon Teter, said t was an opportunity to learn about rules and practices -- and how a parliament can run smoothly.
He said while Vanuatu has seen decades of reform in the public service, the parliament in Port VIla has largely gone untouched.
Mr Teter said this allowed pressure to build ahead of the 2016 political crisis, when parliament was dissolved after half a government was jailed.
"It was sad that [the] parliament of Vanuatu has gone through this scandal, but currently we have some discussions to carry out I would say a little reform concerning our parliament. I have had heard that the government will bring the constitutional amendment this year."
For Leon Teter, he said the knowledge gained from other parliaments will prove valuable when the time does come for those reforms.