Page 2268 - Week 06 - Thursday, 6 June 2019
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(2) acknowledges the value of constitutional parliamentary democracy in providing for representative, responsible government and the rule of law;
(3) places enormous value in the deep and abiding ties between the Legislative Assembly for the ACT and the Kiribati Parliament, the Maneaba ni Maungatabu, that have been established through the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s twinning program; and
(4) wishes the people of Kiribati a bright and prosperous future in which its democratic institutions continue to flourish.
I am very pleased to move this motion to mark the 40th anniversary of the independence of Kiribati. It was on 12 July 1979 that the independent Republic of Kiribati was formed, becoming the 41st member of the commonwealth. This followed an order of Queen Elizabeth II providing for the constitution of Kiribati, which includes provisions for free elections, the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms, the establishment of three distinct and separate branches of government, and the rule of law.
Kiribati occupies a special place in the hearts and minds of members of this place, arising from the Assembly having been paired with the Parliament of Kiribati since 2007 under the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association twinning program. Members will be aware that the twinning arrangement has been valuable. We have developed a shared understanding of each other’s parliamentary practices, constitutional arrangements, political cultures and history. The aims of the CPA twinning program are to promote cooperation and support between developed and developing branches of the association by creating links across the regions and continents within the commonwealth. The program also provides an opportunity to forge ongoing relationships between branches and work towards achievement of the MDGs. All Australian states and the Northern Territory are similarly twinned with other parliaments across the Pacific.
In 2008 then Speaker Wayne Berry and Deputy Speaker Steve Pratt, together with the Clerk of the Assembly, visited Kiribati and discussed with their Speaker and Clerk how we could further progress the twinning arrangements, how they could be used for the mutual benefit of the ACT and Kiribati, and how knowledge and information might best be shared.
Since that time, the relationship between the Legislative Assembly and the Kiribati parliament has flourished, with a range of activities and visits. These included a visit to Kiribati by the Deputy Speaker, Mrs Dunne, and Ms Le Couteur; a visit by the Deputy Clerk in 2011 as part of the twinning arrangements; a visit by the Clerk Assistant and the justice and community safety legal adviser in 2012 to assist new members with an education program; and a visit by a former Clerk of the Assembly, Mark McRae OAM, for six weeks in October 2009 to assist with a review of the Kiribati standing orders. We all know what fun a review of standing orders is, members! They also included the then Speaker of the Assembly, Shane Rattenbury, attending the 2009 Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference; a visit to Kiribati by Ms Lawder and, as I recall, Mr Wall and the Clerk Assistant in August 2014, again as
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