| Foundations of Public Leadership: The 7th CDI Pacific Parliamentary Forum
After 5 days of dialogue, participants in 7th CDI PPF agreed that good public leadership is at least as important to effective democracy as appropriate institutions of governance. Hosted jointly by the Parliament of the Fiji Islands and CDI, the PPF brought together 17 members of parliament from the Pacific Islands region, including Speaker of the Fijian House of Representatives, Ratu Epeli Nailitikau, for discussions with international colleagues on the theme of public leadership. The program was designed around presentations by Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Islander legislators and political party organisers, including Geoff Walsh (former Federal Secretary of the Australian Labor Party), Graham Jaeschke (NSW State Director of the Liberal Party), Hon. Krishna Datt (Fijian Labour Party Whip), Hon. Brian Donnelly (NZ First), Hon. Taito Philip Field (NZ Labour Party) and the Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Bruce Billson. Participants also took part in discussions with Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Greg Urwin, and University of the South Pacific academics, Prof. Graham Hassall and Jeanette Bolenga. The President of the Fiji Senate, the Hon. Taito Waqavakatoga, an alumnus of the PPF, hosted a reception for workshop participants at the Fijian Parliament.
Discussions focused on the roles that MPs play, the choices they make and the actions and frameworks that allow them to pursue their respective and collective political agendas. In particular, it looked at the way that parties bring force to MPs' convictions and the processes through which platforms are designed and campaigns fought. Further topics addressed were how policies are pursued in coalition governments and how up-and-coming leaders can be fostered.
While participants noted the need for better regulatory frameworks, participants agreed that the best means of improving public leadership in the Pacific Islands is for leaders themselves to take up the responsibility for making well-informed judgements in the collective interest. Despite the prevalence of money politics, the pull of region, ethnicity and family, and the intense localisation of issues, public leadership demands an eye for the national interest. The Forum concluded with a speech by Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Bruce Billson, who addressed the core themes of managing expectations and risks in public leadership. As Billson stated, MPs are in the "trust business": people trust that their support for an MP will result in some kind of benefit to themselves. The trick for MPs in Australia and the Pacific Islands alike is making sure that they do not become beholden to particular demands for money and support, but bring benefit to the whole community. With an eye for the future, members acknowledged the effect that their behaviour has on public perceptions of leaders. As keynote speaker Chief John Momis stated, the failure to provide for future generations will determine how the current cohort of political leaders in the Pacific Islands are remembered.
The forum was supported by and planned in collaboration with New Zealand 's International Aid & Development Agency (NZAID), the New Zealand Parliament and parliamentary parties, and the Parliament of the Fiji Islands. Core funding for the project came from AusAID, the Australian Agency for International Development.
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