National Assembly and Australian parliament ponder closer ties |31 August 2012

He was there at the invitation of the speaker of the House of Representatives Peter Slipper and the president of the Senate John Hogg.

The proposed memorandum of understanding (MoU) is aimed at allowing support for the establishment of a National Assembly service, a parliamentary broadcasting unit and support for the continuous capacity building of both the members of the National Assembly and its secretariat through a programme of exchange of expertise and knowledge between the two parliaments.

“The Australian parliament which has traditionally been a pillar of support to small islands states in the Pacific should start looking westward towards the Indian Ocean, given that a major chunk of Australia is in the Indian Ocean,” Dr Herminie said.

He was also a special guest during Question Time in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, whereby he had the opportunity to observe proceedings.

He also visited Sydney, where he met the governor of New South Wales Professor Marie Bashir, and the presiding officers of the parliament of New South Wales. In Sydney he also visited the St Vincent’s Drug and Alcohol Centre where he saw the interventions being deployed by the Australian government in its aggressive and progressive war against alcohol and drug addiction. 

Dr Herminie described his visit as a successful one, in an advanced and well-organised democracy, and said that Seychelles may draw valuable lessons from the good parliamentary practices of Australia.