A delegation of Fiji parliamentarians has begun a three-day visit to the New Zealand parliament.
Led by the Deputy Speaker, Ruveni Nadalo, the delegation includes the whips of both the government and the opposition.
An opposition member of the National Federation Party, Prem Singh, says the visit is important as Fiji has a long way to go to achieve a fully functioning parliamentary democracy.
Singh told Radio New Zealand International the elections are the first steps towards parliamentary democracy, so this is a very good learning lesson for a Parliament like Fiji where there are diverse interests.
He says they look forward to a culmination of all this togetherness if they can effectively make some difference back home.
The government deputy whip Sanjit Patel says to achieve this democracy there has to be some form of coordination between all parties.
During their visit the MPs will observe proceedings in the Chamber and study the way in which committees operate.
They will also discuss the mechanisms used by the Parliament’s Business Committee to arrange the Parliament’s work and exchange experiences with their New Zealand counterparts as to the roles and functions of the whips.
