Cook Islands parliamentarians engaged in open discussions with Aotearoa New Zealand’s Speaker of the House of Representatives Gerry Brownlee and his delegation at Parliament House yesterday morning.

Brownlee said this was a dialogue between Members of Parliament from both countries and the way it progressed was very valuable to both sides.

Brownlee and his cross-party delegation include Cook Islander Tangi Utikere MP (Chief Whip – Labour Party), Dr Vanessa Weenink MP (National Party), Greg O’Connor MP (Assistant Speaker – Labour Party), and Scott Willis MP (Green Party). Another Cook Islander, Amber Walters, who is the InterParliamentary Relations Lead, arrived on Wednesday night.

It has been several years since a New Zealand Parliamentary delegation visited the Cook Islands, this trip is the first Speaker’s delegation to the Pacific in the 54th Parliament.

Brownlee says parliamentary relations are very important and New Zealand has a very unique relationship with the Cook Islands.

While some people may describe the Cook Islands as a realm of New Zealand, Brownlee says: “It’s a very independent country and I think it’s important that our systems are complementary but also recognise the differences between our countries.”

He says the processes are similar and the challenges around those processes are very similar.

“We are here to reinforce the friendship between our countries and the connection between our two parliaments.”

The discussions included the comparism of resources. Local MPs talked about the difficulties they were presented with and highlighted their lack of resources and processes.

“I think it was quite enlightening for our side,” said Brownlee, who also noted how widespread the country’s geography was with many of the constituencies a long way from the capital of Rarotonga.

“It was interesting for us to see how lucky we are with some of the resources that we have and sort of perhaps learn how we might use those resources a bit better.”

The inter-parliamentary exchange focused on the cross-sharing of experiences, interrogation of bills, and constituency work.

The impact of these discussions highlights the importance of fostering dialogue and strengthening relationships between the two countries, with local MPs calling out for more face-to-face upskilling and training workshops.

Gifts were presented to Brownlee and the visiting delegation who reciprocated with a gift presented to the Cook Islands Speaker of the House, Tai Tura.

Brownlee says he is enjoying his working stay in “absolutely beautiful country” seeing the spectacular daybreak and having a morning swim in the warm ocean.

He is looking forward to returning for a private holiday.

The delegation will also be meeting with the Cook Islands Ombudsman and Auditor, youth leaders, and an engagement with the New Zealand High Commission in the Cook Islands.