Parliamentary delegates

from the Solomon Islands

David Mehan MP welcomed parliamentary delegates from the Bougainville House of Representatives and the National Parliament of Solomon Islands to The Entrance last Friday.

25 October 2023

THE delegates are visiting Australia as part of the twinning program which is similar to the ‘sister city’ relationships that exist between cities of different countries. Every Australian state and territory parliament is twinned with one or more parliaments in the Pacific region.

The delegates who arrived earlier this week, have had an action-packed program with a behind the scenes look at the workings of the NSW Parliament, meeting with both Ministers and Shadow Ministers, attending robust Question Times and being paired with Members who have similar parliamentary responsibilities.

Last Friday accompanied by NSW Parliament staff, the delegates travelled to The Entrance where they were given an opportunity to meet electorate office staff to discuss the day-to-day office operations and experience some local hospitality.

Australian and Pacific Parliaments that belong to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) participate in the twinning program that provides the opportunity to enhance relations, exchange information and learn from each other.

“The twinning program, which was established in June 2007, plays such an important role with our neighbours in the Pacific region,” Mr Mehan said.

“As a Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly, it is a great honour to be part of a program that aims to provide training and development projects that support parliamentary democracy in this region and beyond.”