Centre for Democratic Institutions

^ Ian Harris, Clerk of the Australian House of Representatives, speaking in the 'Asia-Pacific Region' Session of the conference, chaired by CDI Deputy Director Quinton Clements.

^ Dr Laode Ida, Deputy Speaker of the DPD-RI, presents his paper on the Indonesian parliament's transition to bicameralism.

^ Group photo at the conclusion of the conference on 31 July 2009.

Varieties of Unicameralism

CDI Deputy Director Quinton Clements convened a panel around the theme of the Asia-Pacific region at a recent conference on Unicameralism which was held to mark the 20th anniversary of the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Australia’s youngest parliament. The conference was co-sponsored by the Parliamentary Studies Centre at the ANU and the ACT Legislative Assembly, with funding from the Australian Research Council.

The panel convened by Mr Clements included Dr Laode Ida, Deputy Speaker of the House of Regional Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (DPD-RI) of Indonesia; Mr Ian Harris, Clerk of the Australian Parliament’s House of Representatives; and Mr David Hegarty, an ANU based scholar of Pacific Islands politics. The panel discussed the development and characteristics of parliamentary systems throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

The aim of the ‘Varieties of Unicameralism’ conference was to locate the experience of the ACT Legislative Assembly in the wider Australian and international context, and to illustrate the many varieties of unicameralism. The conference also featured reports of historical and contemporary developments from a wide range of unicameral legislatures: some, such as New Zealand and Scotland, at national level; and others, like Queensland and the Northern Territory, at sub-national level.

Click on the first link below to the Parliamentary Studies Centre web site for all the details on this conference, and the second link provides more detail and background on the DPD delegation's visit to Canberra:

‘Varieties of Unicameralism’ | ACT Legislative Assembly Canberra, Australia | Friday 31 July, 2009

Indonesian Parliamentary Delegation Visits the ANU | July 2009

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	Crawford School of Economics and Government	ANU College of Asia and the Pacific	The Centre for Democratic Institutions (CDI) is a government-funded body that supports the efforts of new democracies in the Asia-Pacific region to strengthen their political systems. It provides training, technical assistance and peer support for parliamentarians and emerging leaders in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, with a particular focus on Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji. The Australian Government established CDI in 1998. It is funded primarily by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). One of the primary ways in which CDI works to promote democracy is through strengthening parliamentary governance and political parties. The Centre focusses on parliamentary and political party development, and conducts flagship training courses and policy-relevant research on these subjects.
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