The Centre for Democratic Institutions
FIFTH PACIFIC PARLIAMENTARY RETREAT
DARWIN, 24-28 NOVEMBER 2003
INTRODUCTION
The fifth Pacific Parliamentary Retreat took place in Darwin from 24-28 November 2003. As with previous years, the Retreat was co-funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) as part of their commitment to good governance in Pacific Island nations. Letters of invitation were addressed to the Speakers of the parliaments of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu inviting three members of each parliament to attend the Pacific Parliamentary Retreat. CDI encouraged at least one member of the opposition from each country to attend and also encouraged the participation of women.
This year was the first time the Retreat has been held in Darwin. The first two Retreats were held in Canberra and the third and fourth Retreats were held in Brisbane. The Northern Territory Parliament was extremely generous with their time and resources, allowing the use of the Litchfield Room within the Parliament for seminars and presentations. The Honourable Loraine Braham MLA, Speaker of the Parliament, hosted the Retreat participants for a lunch and reception and the program saw the inclusion of all Members of the Legislative Assembly during the four days. The Speaker issued a press release noting the presence of the Pacific parliamentarians and the Parliament’s pleasure at hosting CDI’s fifth Pacific Parliamentary Retreat.
As experienced in previous years, the uncertainties of politics meant that a number of parliamentarians could not attend. A cabinet reshuffle within the Government of Vanuatu meant that the three Ni-Vanuatu participants were unable to leave Vila. The Parliament of Papua New Guinea was voting on a constitutional amendment and the three parliamentarians from PNG were unable to attend. Two participants from the Solomon Islands were also absent. One was involved the passing of the annual budget in the same week. The other participant was unable to leave his province due to unexpected flight changes. The Retreat benefited from the attendance of the following participants:
Fiji Hon. Ted Young
Hon. Kamlesh Arya
Hon. Senator Mitieli Bulanauca
Papua New Guinea Mr John Balagetuna, Parliamentary staff member
Samoa Hon. Sua Atonio Lemi
Hon. Tofilau Tauvaga
Hon. Niko Lee Hang
Solomon Islands Hon. Simeon Bouro
The Retreat was fortunate to have the expertise of Mr Greg Urwin, who acted as the resource person during the Retreat. Between 1971 and 2001, Greg worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) specialising in Pacific affairs and governance issues. During his career with DFAT, Greg was the High Commissioner to Samoa and Vanuatu, Deputy High Commissioner to New Zealand, then High Commissioner to Fiji, Tuvalu and Nauru. Between postings Greg worked for DFAT in a range of positions that related to the Pacific. Greg was a permanent representative to the Forum Secretariat from 1995 to 1999. In his retirement Greg has remained actively involved in Pacific governance issues including with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). He is a Visiting Fellow at the Research School of Asian and Pacific Studies at the Australian National University in Canberra and has been operating a consultancy service specialising in Pacific affairs in Samoa, where he now resides. In January 2004, Greg will take up the position of Secretary-General to the South Pacific Forum. Greg Urwin drew from his extensive experience and knowledge of the Pacific to provide valuable insight into discussions and presentations held during the Retreat in Darwin.
CDI provided Retreat participants with a compilation of published articles, conference reports, speeches, resolutions as well as information from the NT Legislative Assembly. The information ranged from parliamentary procedures and conduct to issues of democracy, ethics, good governance, accountability and corruption. The table of contents from the reading material is attached at the end of this report. Four broad themes ran through the Pacific Parliamentary Retreat program and discussions: parliamentary issues, land management, Australian indigenous society and Pacific society. The Retreat program is also attached.
PARLIAMENTARY ISSUES
The Northern Territory and its Legislative Assembly presented an interesting and relevant model for participants to compare with the Pacific and their parliaments. The Northern Territory has a large indigenous population living in remote rural areas. The Legislative Assembly has only one chamber, a small number of members and represents a diverse population with multiple dialects. Mr Ian McNeill, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, welcomed the delegation to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly and provided a comprehensive overview of the state’s parliamentary system. This helped to lay the groundwork for a broader appreciation of the discussions and presentations that took place during the Retreat. The Northern Territory parliament holds the power for most decision making within the Territory however the Commonwealth Government maintains certain residual powers including over Aboriginal land rights, national parks and uranium mining. The Northern Territory Government is also limited by the Commonwealth Government’s ability to disallow legislation in the Northern Territory within six months after it has been passed. This power was demonstrated in the case of the Northern Territory’s Rights of the Terminally Ill Act with the Commonwealth Parliament, in effect, vitiating the Northern Territory Act. The Northern Territory Legislative Assembly comprises 25 members currently divided between: 13 Australian Labor Party members, 10 Country Liberal Party members and 2 independents. The Labor Party has been in government for the past two years. Prior to this, the Country Liberal Party was in power for 23 years. The Retreat took place two weeks after Mr. Terrence Mills was elected as the new Leader of the Opposition. Parliament sits for 33-36 days of the year and during the Retreat, the Legislative Assembly was in its final sitting for the calendar year.
Parliamentary committees play an important role as an extension of parliament, undertaking those tasks not well suited to the full Chamber. Rick Gray, Executive Officer of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, gave a comprehensive overview of the roles and responsibilities of parliamentary committees and their members. There are three types of committees: standing committees which are permanent, sessional committees which are created for the term of parliament and select committees which are formed when the need arises to assist with particular inquiries. These committees are tasked to obtain information from individuals, organisations and government agencies relating to inquiries. Committees promote public awareness and provide a public forum for debate and discussion.
During the Retreat a working lunch was held with committee members from four committees within the Legislative Assembly: the Public Accounts Committee, the Substance Abuse Committee, the Legal and Constitutional Committee and the Environmental and Sustainable Development Committee. This provided the opportunity to compare committees in the Pacific and the Northern Territory and discuss current issues and inquiries being debated in the Northern Territory. Len Keily, Chair of the Public Account Committee, discussed the reasons behind the Northern Territory’s move to accrual accounting and the roles and responsibilities of a committee. Ms. Marion Scymagour, Chair of the Substance Abuse Committee, spoke about government concerns of alcohol consumption (as well as kava, common in the Pacific Islands), cannabis and petrol sniffing. Significantly, in mid December 2003 Marion Scymagour was appointed Minister for Tourism and is the first Aboriginal woman cabinet Minister in Australia.
Mr. Elliot McAdam, Chair of the Legal and Constitutional Committee, noted the committee’s interest in issues of indigenous governance and statehood in the Northern Territory. Mr. McAdam spoke about customary laws relating to marriage, land and water management in the Northern Territory. Ms. Delia Lawrie, Chair of the Environmental and Sustainable Development Committee, spoke about the progressive entry into the Northern Territory of cane toads and whether the government should implement an environment protection authority. Currently the Northern Territory is the only state or territory in Australia without an environment protection authority.
The Pacific parliamentarians were interested to learn about the formation and strength of committees in Australia. Committees in the Solomon Islands were noted to be weak, partly because members have to travel great distances and at great cost to attend meetings in Honiara. In Fiji, the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee must be a member of the opposition. In the Northern Territory a Committee Chair is normally from the government but can also be an independent. The Pacific parliamentarians questioned whether the Chair of a committee could prevent scrutiny of the government during an inquiry if they were from the government. This is a fair criticism but Committees usually work by consensus to limit partisanship. Parliamentary committees can only make recommendations which the government is not required to accept.
In his presentation, CDI Director Roland Rich outlined the different interests and groups a parliamentarian represents:
§ the individual
§ the family
§ interest groups
§ the political party they belong to
§ constituents
§ parliamentary committees they may be involved in
§ the Parliament
§ the national interest
§ the international community
§ their spiritual master
In a parliamentary career it is likely that issues raising conflicting interests will arise and a parliamentarian will have to decide which loyalty can be honoured and which loyalty cannot.
Looking more broadly at the Pacific, Greg Urwin reflected on the current state of parliaments and stability in the Pacific region. While noting that the situation in the Solomon Islands and hopefully Papua New Guinea (PNG) is improving, instability remains a problem. Establishing stable parliaments and strong political parties within the Pacific will be a long term process and there is no generic model. The parliamentary models that were adopted from colonial powers are not fully appropriate and over the years difficulties have arisen. People switch party affiliation regularly creating uncertainty in governing arrangements. With the aim of promoting stability within the parliament, legislation in Papua New Guinea prevents parliamentary members from shifting party allegiance during a parliamentary term.
Drawing on issues of representation raised by Roland Rich, Greg Urwin argued that members’ obligations to their constituents often constrain them from acting in a ‘national’ way to assist the development of the nation. Pacific island states have been good at carrying through achievements made in the region and there is a higher level of regional integration than previously experienced in the Pacific particularly in areas of education, policing and transport. However, nations experience difficulties translating regional issues to the national level. Some argue that problems in the Pacific are a result of the colonial era, however Greg stressed that there is little point in merely shifting the blame. More work needs to be done internally to strengthen the governing institutions of these nations. Strengthening parliaments and the skills of MPs in the Pacific requires better access to information, the development of legislation drafting skills, the development of the role of the Speaker, stronger committee systems, enhanced accountability processes and greater financial and budgetary independence.
During the Retreat, participants viewed two sessions of question time in parliament gaining insight into current issues being debated in the Northern Territory and the tactics and strategies within parliament. The Pacific parliamentarians were able to view the debates and criticism often leading to rowdy banter between politicians. Question time gives the opposition an opportunity to ask the government questions in an attempt to expose weaknesses in the government’s actions.
LAND MANAGEMENT
Population growth is an increasing problem in the Pacific. The constraints of a limited land mass places pressure on the economy, the environment and the availability of resources. Land management is a difficult aspect of governance, particularly in the Pacific, and was therefore a theme of this year’s Retreat. Debates relating to land management during the Retreat focused on parks and reserves, tourism, the problem of litter in urban and rural areas, fisheries and pest management. During the Retreat seven bills came before parliament relating to land management. These included the Parks and Reserves (Framework for the Future) Bill, the Mining Amendment Bill and the Container Deposit Bill.
Land management and cultural heritage was discussed in more detail during the Retreat with Professor David Carment from Charles Darwin University. Professor Carment spoke about aboriginal land rights, native title and the government, multicultural heritage and legislation, the National Trust, education and research. Until the late 1970s heritage places in Australia were poorly protected and managed. Today, the Parks and Wildlife Commission manages conservation and tourism for 100 parks in the Territory. Uluru and Kata Tjuta remain under the management of the Commonwealth. The establishment of the National Trust in 1976 saw political recognition of the economic value of cultural heritage in the Northern Territory and the development of tourism in this area. In the 1990s heritage objects became registered and the government developed heritage trails, a museum and art gallery. The National Trust is the main non-government organisation dealing with issues of cultural heritage. The Trust manages properties as well as acting as a public advocate and professional advisor on cultural heritage.
Popular interest in cultural heritage is growing in Australia and the Pacific parliamentarians were interested to discuss the prevalence of conflict between traditional and modern ideals with heritage management. Within Australia some conflict exists in traditional areas where development is not always welcomed by a community. The parliamentarians also discussed the importance of education programs on cultural heritage. During the Retreat the Pacific parliamentarians visited the Administrator’s Residence where they were able to witness a committee meeting in session planning the restoration of historic buildings.
Fisheries management in the Northern Territory was of particular interest to the Pacific parliamentarians. Mr. Ray Clarke, Advisor to the Minister for Fisheries, presented an overview of the operation of fisheries in the Northern Territory. During the Retreat, the Commercial Fisheries Legislation was passed in parliament increasing penalties for breaching fishing laws in the Territory. In the Northern Territory, 84% of the coast line is indigenous owned and the government recognises certain indigenous fishing rights. The Pacific parliamentarians were interested to discuss arrangements for dispute settlements of traditional sea rights, how boundaries were marked and the procedures for claiming sea rights. The application process was noted to be the same as claims to native title. Fish farms in the Northern Territory focus on barramundi, prawns and crayfish. The Pacific parliamentarians were particularly interested in new initiatives being developed in the Territory such as sponge farming by the indigenous population as an income generating activity. The Pacific parliamentarians were also interested in Australia’s code of conduct for fisheries. The Northern Territory has developed an extensive program for aquatic pest management inspecting all vessels in Australian ports and cleaning, free of charge, those suspected of carrying dangerous organisms. The Pacific parliamentarians were also interested to learn about control of illegal fishing in the Northern Territory which was noted to be both a community and government responsibility at the federal and territory level.