Cook Islands parliament using NZ connection to upskill members

Training and upskilling members of parliament, especially newcomers, remain a significant challenge due to a lack of understanding regarding parliamentary roles and processes.

However, Tai Tura, the Speaker of the Cook Islands Parliament, says that leveraging their connection with New Zealand addresses these challenges.

"Some members of the Select Committees don’t actually understand their role,” Tura said.

“It’s our job to lead them. To show them what is required for them to understand their role. For us, face-to-face training is much better.

“Some might have a lack of English understanding. So, with the person-to-person training, it gives them more confidence, more understanding.”

Earlier this year, Cook Islands MPs expressed concerns about infrastructure gaps and resource constraints to New Zealand’s Speaker, Gerry Brownlee.

Cook Islands' Public Accounts Committee members recently visited Aotearoa for training.

The opportunity helped participants better understand their roles and learn how to effectively question members of the public summoned before the committee.

Cook Islands Parliament Speaker, Tai Tura. Photo/NZ Parliament Facebook

While partnerships and training exchanges are valuable for overcoming these challenges, Tura said more investment in parliamentary tools and capacity-building programmes is needed.

"It’s about translating the relationship between our constituencies and Parliament," Tura explained.

"When traditional knowledge comes to Parliament, it blends with contemporary practices, creating a governance model that reflects who we are as Cook Islanders."

Tura attended the Tahuna a Tara conference for Pacific Speakers, presiding officers and clerks as part of development efforts.

Brownlee hosted the conference as an opportunity to strengthen New Zealand’s support for Pacific legislatures.

The conference has attendees from across the Pacific, including Bougainville, Nauru, and French Polynesia.

Reflecting on the meeting, Tura highlighted the significance of regional cooperation.

"It’s an eye-opener to see how other parliaments operate. Sharing information allows us to improve and help each other.”

He also noted that the Cook Islands stands ahead of many of its regional counterparts in areas such as standing orders and select committee procedures, thanks in part to support from New Zealand.

Attendees of Tahuna a Tara Conference. Photo/NZ Parliament Facebook

“Most importantly, what I’ve learnt from this conference is we understand the difficulties from each other and how we relate our way of doing our Parliament to help each other.

“To me, it's sharing information where we can improve and where we can share with other Pacific neighbours' parliaments.”

Watch the full interview here.