You might think that travelling around the United States with another MP from a rival party would be a bit like going on holiday with your in-laws. In reality though, it’s not like that at all.
Earlier this month, National MP for Southland Joseph Mooney, and Labour list MP Glen Bennett travelled to the United States together under the auspices of Inter-Parliamentary Relations.
Glen Bennett and Joseph Mooney outside the Capitol in Washington D.C. Photo: Supplied
Far from a jaunt
Parliamentary diplomacy, which is distinct from government-led foreign affairs, is something that New Zealand’s Parliament values highly. Connecting with counterparts both in the context of both inward and outward engagements gives members a uniquely parliamentary platform to foster bilateral and multilateral relationships and exchange knowledge.
Such knowledge exchange often comes in the form of attendance at a number of multilateral conferences and meetings. Your mind probably goes to New York, Geneva, Brussels, and the like. For Mooney and Bennett though, this time it was Louisville, Kentucky.
The two MPs, after a series of meetings in Washington D.C., headed across the Appalachians and into the ‘Bluegrass State’ for the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL). This is, as the name suggests, an annual event that gathers state and local legislators from across the US for seminars, networking, and discussions on a variety of topics. You’ll notice I said state legislators, not global or national legislators, so what were Mooney and Bennett doing there?
Bennett described it in a nutshell as “observing.”
“There was, I think it was about 5,000 people, and even that was a small conference. So they do actually have an international contingency that always goes. And Joseph and I were the first New Zealand MPs to actually attend. For me, I guess an observation was that we were actually sort of hanging out with 50 different countries, almost because each legislator, each state had their representation. And it makes you realise how small we are as a country, and how slimline and simple our politics is.”
Mooney noted that other international delegates said their countries often work on trade relationships with individual American states rather than the US as a whole. The negotiation is less complex and the economies are similar. It apparently works well.
“The Irish had a contingent there, and one of the senators was making the point that they do a lot of work building relationships with states rather than federally, because they get more value out of that.”
As you’d expect, the experience was especially intriguing given the timing of their visit, which was just a couple of weeks after the Trump Assassination attempt, and the move from Biden to Harris as the Democrat contender. Both members recalled that the political volatility was palpable; perhaps, bafflingly, even more than the American political landscape normally is.
Bringing lessons home
While never as fun as the travel itself, but always necessary, every field trip requires a report back post-trip. Bennett described the process of informing his colleagues about what he got up to.
“The Speaker sends us, and so he expects us to send him a report. I've been told that the report needs to be short and to the point, so I’m okay with that. Then it is taking it back to the caucus in terms of that report. But also, since I've been back this week, it's really talking to colleagues, and looking at some of those ideas, some of those possibilities, some of those innovations. You learn how to take that and workshop it and use it within our caucus to build ideas and concepts, I guess, to form policy for the future.”
To listen to The House’s full chat with Joseph Mooney and Glen Bennett about their travels, click on the link at the top of the page.
