EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DELEGATION FOR RELATIONS WITH AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND 17th EU - New Zealand Interparliamentary Meeting 29 March - 1 April 2010 Christchurch and Wellington REPORT BY RICHARD JAMES ASHWORTH, ACTING CHAIR OF THE DELEGATION FdR 822913 1 PE 442.289 INTRODUCTION The Delegation for relations with Australia and New Zealand held the 17th EU - New Zealand Interparliamentary meeting on 29 March - 1 April 2010 in Christchurch and Wellington. The Delegation of the European Parliament was led by Mr Richard Ashworth (ECR, UK) and was composed of the following Members: Michael Cramer (Greens, Germany), Giles Chichester (ECR, UK), Emilio Menendez del Valle (S&D, Spain), Jose Manuel Garcia – Margallo y Marfil (EPP, Spain), Hannu Takkula (ALDE, Finland) and Petru Luhan (EPP, Romania). The programme of the visit and the list of participants are included in the annex to this report. CHRISTCHURCH - Monday 29 March 2010 Working breakfast with Dr Therese Arsenau, political commentator and Senior Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Canterbury The discussion focused on NZ constitutional and electoral issues; Ms Arsenau explained the process of the electoral reform and in particular the MMP (mixed- member proportional) system. In 1993 New Zealanders voted in a referendum to change their voting system from the traditional first-past-the-post (FPP) method to Mixed Member Proportional representation (MMP). The origins of electoral reform lay in the gradual breakdown of public trust and confidence in politicians and Parliament. This process began in the 1950s and 1960s and gathered momentum in the 1970s and 1980s, decades marked by economic uncertainty and the emergence of new social and political movements. Criticism of the voting system intensified after the 1978 and 1981 elections. On each occasion the Labour opposition actually secured more votes overall than National, but the latter won more seats in Parliament and remained in government. Both National and Labour Parties entered the 1990 election campaign promising to hold referenda on electoral reforms. The Labour government was defeated in the 1990 election, but the National Party did not keep its election promises. Due to this fact, public support for radical electoral reform began to grow. The first referendum, of a non binding nature, took place in 1992 with a turnout of 55% and 85% voted to change their electoral system, with 70% in favour of the MMP system. MMP representation system means that each elector would get two votes, one for an electorate MP and one for a party. The size of Parliament would increase to 120 MPs: half would be elected in single-member constituencies (as before); the other half FdR 822913 2 PE 442.289 would be selected from party lists so that in general each party's share of all 120 seats corresponded to its share of the overall vote. The binding referendum was held at the same time as the 1993 general election. The turnout was much higher, 85%, and the result much closer than in 1992. The next three years, before the first MMP election in 1996 was a period of transition and uncertainty. The main parties tried to re-position themselves in this new environment and a number of new parties emerged. At the 1996 elections, Parliament had become much more diverse and representative of modern New Zealand society. Following the 2006 elections, the Parliament has in its composition also 39 women, 21 Maori, four Pacific Islanders, and two Asian MPs among the 121 MPs. Many Members of The European Delegation [Mr Ashworth, Mr Chichester, Mr Luhan, Mr Menendez, Mr Takkula and Mr Cramer ] explained the electoral system at European level and at national level (e.g. United Kingdom and Germany) and asked for more details about the parliamentarian life in New Zealand. Ms. De Arsenau also elaborated about the accessibility of the MPs to the Prime Minister, who is very visible and in permanent contact with people, the constitutional right of the citizens to initiate a referendum, the differences between the MPs elected through the parties' lists, so-called "zombies" and those elected in each constituency, the role of the women in New Zealand politics and the Maori presence in political life. Visit at the National Centre for Research on Europe (NCRE), University of Canterbury Professors and students participated at the meeting with the European delegation. The discussions were led by Mr Martin Holland, Director, and with the participation of a series of important figures of the Centre such as Dr Rod Carr - Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ian Town - Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Steve Weaver - Dean of Post-Graduate Studies, Gina Deerness-Plesner - FRENZ Project Representative. The National Centre for Research on Europe at the University of Canterbury is the only Centre in New Zealand dedicated to the study of the EU and the EU-New Zealand bilateral agenda. It was established in 2002, following its forerunner, the Centre of Research on Europe, established in 2000. The NCRE remains the only EU dedicated tertiary level centre in New Zealand. The NCRE has developed significantly in both academic and outreach activities, involving a variety of roles and mechanisms. It has also established an effective form of collaboration with 4 other NZ universities (Auckland, Victoria, Otago and Lincoln) and one Australian university (Melbourne). The NCRE is a member of many academic networks both nationally and internationally. Two of the major academic networks that the Centre belongs are also administered by the NCRE office. These are Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence Asia - pacific and European Union Studies Association - New Zealand. FdR 822913 3 PE 442.289 Members were briefed on details of its activities, including the following: its research work; the bilateral student exchanges; and the visitors programme which aims to bring high profile visitors to New Zealand. Many international staff are employed in the Centre and there is a generous sabbatical system that enables them to study abroad. A two way discussion between MEPs (Mr Ashworth, Mr Cramer, Mr Chichester, Mr Luhan, Mr Menendez and Mr Takkula) and the invited students subsequently took place. The main topics were the Lisbon Treaty, the Enlargement process of the European Union, the European Neighbourhood Policy, climate change and energy, integration of minorities in Europe. Site visit to sheep and beef farm at Middle Rock hosted by Meat & Wool New Zealand The European Parliament Delegation was welcomed by the owners of the farm, M. Bruce and Lyn Nell. Lyn and Bruce Nell are third generation, owner operator, NZ farmers farming 8,000 sheep, with over of 15 years experience. The Delegation was taken on a tour of the property and the hosts explained the farming activities. WELLINGTON - 30 March - 1 April Tuesday 30 March 2010 Call on the Honourable Dr Lockwood Smith, Speaker of the House of Representatives Dr Smith welcomed the delegation and stressed the importance of links between the European Parliament and the New Zealand House of Representatives. He stressed the need to continue such exchanges. The topics for discussions were: EU - New Zealand Science and Technology Agreement, WTO and Doha Round, New Zealand’s participation in the Transatlantic Partnership, New Zealand - China relations, the global financial crisis, agriculture, farming, security issues (New Zealand - NATO relations), New Zealand’s participation in conflict areas such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and its impact on public opinion, New Zealand - Fiji relations, climate change, environment, and EU - USA relations. FdR 822913 4 PE 442.289 The following took the floor: Mr Ashworth, Mr Cramer, Mr Chichester, Mr Luhan, Mr Menendez and Mr Takkula. The Speaker pointed out: the importance of the relationship with Asian countries; the strengthening of relations with China, a key partner, through the signature of the Free Trade Agreement in April 2008; NZ commitment to the Transpacific Partnership; the public support for the NZ external actions (e.g. Afghanistan, Iraq etc); the recent renegotiation of NZ representation to Fiji; improvement of NZ - USA relations. Briefing with European Heads of Missions The briefing was led by Mr George Cunningham, Chargé d'Affaires - European Commission Delegation to New Zealand and was attended by Mr Marcos Gomes Martinez, Ambassador of Spain, representing the Spanish Presidency and ambassadors or other officials from other member states. In the briefing the EP Delegation was updated on the following topics: NZ internal situation, NZ Economic aspects, NZ - Fiji/Pacific, NZ external relations and, last but not least, EU-NZ relations: as it was underlined to the Delegation, 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the relationship. The next discussions at ministerial level between EU and New Zealand will take place on 16 June 2010 in Madrid. Concerning FTAs, negotiations with India have been announced; a fourth round with Korea is planned for April; the CEP with Hong Kong will be signed at the end of March and the FTA with the GCC is expected to be signed in late April. Regarding the NZ/Fiji conflict, the assessment was that Wellington was trying to find a more constructive basis on overall NZ/Fiji relations.NZ Foreign Minister McCully met his Fijian counterpart in January and February. Discussions have led to both sides appointing their first diplomats to their respective bilateral High Commissions since the NZ High Commissioner there was expelled by the interim Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama, for allegedly interfering in government affairs. PM Key announced on 1 February that NZ has joined the Copenhagen Accord. NZ 2013 - 2020 emissions reduction target of 10 - 20% less than 1990 level is conditional - NZ will commit to a binding agreement if other nations which are important emitters, will increase their commitments. Maori issue: under the Treaty of Waitangi of 1840, Maori have a reserved roll and receive a number of reserved seats.