A House of the good, the bad and the ugly

Puna Rakanui has spent 23 years as a member of the parliamentary staff, working in every department over that time. Whenever someone finally pulls finger and sets a date for the next election, it will be the eighth time Rakanui will welcome the leaders of the nation into the house where democracy resides.
He has seen the good, the bad and the ugly take up seats in Parliament. If anyone has an insight into what makes for an effective MP, it’s Rakanui, who currently holds the position of assistant clerk of Parliament. He is respected for his frankness and honesty because, at the root of his opinions, there is a genuine desire for the Cook Islands to be led by the best government possible.
In an exclusive interview with Turama, Rakanui shared his thoughts on the job politicians and voters alike must do to ensure only the good are allowed to run the country.

Q: What should candidates know if they want to become Members of Parliament?
A: There are a lot of things, both inside and outside Parliament, that they need to be equipped with. For one thing, I would suggest they come here, before they get into the election. Come here and familiarize themselves with the environment that they want to be in. Feel it and see what it is like. In my view, 98 per cent of those new ones who wish to participate in the election have never been inside this chamber. That’s a start for them.
In the event that you are elected as a Member of Parliament, I suggest that you insure that, one, you can read, and two, you can write. You can read Maori and you can read English. Unfortunately, these two languages must go hand-in-hand in this chamber. And if you don’t have the ability in either of them, then you are at a big loss when you set foot inside here.
Q: Are you suggesting that some of the current MPs are in that situation?
A: I wouldn’t say the current MPs, but I had experiences where members had to rely on their staff members to practically put everything down in writing and then sit down with them and coach them. That’s not our job. Our job is to help make legislations in this house, to insure that the procedures of the house are complied with. Unfortunately, there is no institute that provides parliamentary training. Nothing. So we can only help. But we can speed up the assistance for the members when they step inside here if they can read, if they can write. If they are able to research. If they’re able to formulate questions – to have that thinking mentality before they step inside here.
Q: That just sounds scary to me. These are the people running our country and you’re saying that some of them can’t even read and write properly. And yet they’re making decisions that are going to impact every one of us.
A: They are going to continue to rely on other people to continue advising them. There comes a point where advice becomes questionable. Information provided to the members can be questionable. We have to accept that.
Q: As voters, do we need to ensure that the people we elect to Parliament have these basic skills?
A: That comes again to another concern of mine. Since I’ve been in here, our people have been very critical of the quality of the performances of the members. They have been very pessimistic. And yet, at every general election, they are the people who brought those people inside here. They are the ones who elected these people to come here and be their voice. We are not stopping that. We are not against that. What we are encouraging is to look at the qualities of our people, of our leaders that you want to put inside here. They are the leaders of our country. They are the ones who are going to represent you in this House. They are the ones who are going to represent you overseas. I have been to many international forums with Members of Parliament and, in many of them, our members have been so quiet. Sitting over there, saying nothing for two weeks and then we get up and come back home. What have we achieved? I get disgusted, I get really disappointed with that. But what can I do?
Q: What do you think the problem is? Is it that they know how to fix up their village but, once they get into the national forum, or the international forum, they’re just clueless because they don’t have that kind of experience or insight?
A: Those are the different levels that we are looking at: ‘I have the capacity to look after my home. I can look after my children; it’s easy.’ But it’s not the same thing as looking after 15 islands. It’s not. You can dig your taro patch – a lot of people can dig a taro patch. You can export your taro – a lot of people can do that. But it’s not the same thing when you get inside here. Dealing with legislation, formulating policies for the country, deciding for the nation, requires the best heads. You also need people who can relate to the ordinary people. Don’t forget that it is the ordinary people who put us inside here.
Q: As voters, do we reap what we sow? Do we get what we deserve?
A: I feel we should be doing something to improve the quality of the members who will come through in the next election. We must do it now, otherwise we will continue to cross the same bridge that we have been crossing for me, for 20 years. I don’t want to cross that bridge again. It’s time we stopped.
What we are planning is that we start conducting workshops and seminars, building up to the election. And let’s do some brainstorming with potential candidates, those that are interested, and see how we can assist them. And maybe that will help them to determine if they are the right people to come inside here.
Q: Isn’t it too late for that? Haven’t most of the candidates already been nominated?
A: Yes, it may be too late. But, on the other hand, if we have that kind of discussion going on, maybe, even if the names are already there – I don’t think any of them have paid their $5000 registration as a candidate – if we have that kind of discussion, one or two may decide not to contest.
Q: What about educating the voter as far as which candidates deserve their vote? Are there any plans to hold public meetings to educate voters on what they should be looking for in different candidates?
A: That’s a very good proposition, but I can see that we are going to run out of time. Our priority is the members, the potential candidates, but I agree with you that there is a need for us to talk with the voters. I wish we had thought about this before.
Q: Do you think, once someone is elected to Parliament, they are corrupted by the temptations? Suddenly there are expense accounts and government vehicles and free travel, and they forget the people who put them into Parliament in the first place.
A: I must admit that there have been a lot of allegations alluding to that. I don’t have any details, but that has been the notion over the 20 years I have been here. If there are facts, we need to bring them out and we need to correct ourselves.
Q: Parliament hasn’t sat for eight months. From the outside looking in, it would appear that the politicians have been on a long-term paid vacation. Are they doing their job properly?
A: Properly? No. Because they have been elected to be inside this House. Their absence inside this House says the opposite.
Q: It isn’t a good look, to not have Parliament sitting. All the in-fighting and backstabbing: it’s a bit of a laughingstock as far as democracy is concerned.
A: It’s very embarrassing. The issue was raised in Wellington when I was there: how is it possible that you have a government with 24 Members of Parliament and only six members forming the government?
Q: There are certain rules you have to adhere to in Parliament, good behaviour being one. Do you have to school new MPs in that as well, as far as protocols and procedures?
A: When you are in the chamber, you are expected to dress properly, to follow the codes. We have standing orders – in fact, 300-plus standing orders – that members are expected to read and understand. It’s not an easy job to remember. The best I would expect of members is to actually read them. And they’re not in Maori; they’re in English. So that’s going to be a problem for you if you haven’t got English. You’re going to depend on other people. Or, you are just going to follow the pattern of others. As leaders of this country, you’ve got to be better than that.
Q: During some of the Parliament sittings, there are arguments, there is shouting: it’s almost like kids in a playground. Does it disappoint you that the people elected to run this country tend to act so childish at times?
A: It’s the privileges that they have. When you are in the chamber, there are certain things that we acknowledge members to perform. For instance, if we know if this member is trying to irritate that member over there, then of course that member will react. It’s that sort of thing. In my view, it’s not a deliberate act to belittle the House. One member uses that technique to get a reaction, to get an answer to situations. But there are times when they are too casual – let’s put it that way.
Q: No matter what the reasoning behind the actions, it’s still a bad look, a bad image.
A: It is a bad image but, in certain cases, it’s just their nature. It’s part of the rules of engagement in Parliament. If there is gross misbehaviour in the House, there are ways of controlling that.
Q: Is there an air of excitement around Parliament House over the upcoming election, as far as new faces coming in and other changes?
A: It’s a time we look forward to. We know there will be new faces. We have own thoughts as to who may or may not be here, but we have to start preparing for the unexpected.
Q: This will be your eighth election while working for Parliament. Is there always a feeling of hope that the next group of elected politicians will do a better job?
A: Our expectation is that we will be able to continue raising the standard of the work performance of this place. But our expectations are not too high.
Q: Is there some dead wood in Parliament right now that you hope will be swept away and replaced by new people with bigger and brighter ideas?
A: I have my own wish list and expectations but, at the end of the day, it will be our people who will decide and I just hope they make wise decisions. Not because a candidate is my uncle or aunty, but what is best for our communities and for the nation.
Q: There tends to be a lot of finger-pointing and criticism aimed at politicians once they are elected. Is that fair? Are there things the public doesn’t understand or know and that’s why we have what appear to be undeserved police escorts, for example? Or is it just politicians taking advantage of perks?
A: Our people don’t know what’s happening, and it’s not their fault. I don’t expect the public to be experts in parliamentary matters, but at least make an effort to come here. The only people who sit in the public gallery that I’ve seen over the years are mainly tourists. And this chamber, this House, belongs to our people. They criticise from the road but never step inside here. That’s not fair.
Q: We’re hearing a lot of talk about political reform. Is there political reform coming?
A: The political reform is basically up to the government of the day. It’s a political will. This is the highest court of the land – parliament. Are we going to reduce its power? Are we going to reduce its authority? By how much? I don’t know. Is it the number of MPs we’re talking about? Maybe we have too many. But if you whittle it down too much, I tell you, we will lose the respect for this House, worse than we have been.
Q: There is talk of Parliament being top-heavy, that there are too many representatives for too little population on some islands. But the MPs would have to vote on that and no one wants to vote themselves out of the trough. It’s a Catch-22.
A: It’s a terrible equation. If I’m a Member of Parliament, in the next election, I don’t want to lose my seat. Nobody wants to lose their seat. No island wants to give up their own seat. A formula must be found. I agree there are islands with too many seats, but I don’t believe that population should be used as the criteria for measuring as to how many Members of Parliament should each island be entitled to. I don’t believe that is the criteria.
Q: So it’s not the number of MPs that’s the problem, it’s the quality of the MPs?
A: I believe it’s the quality of the members that we must address.
Q: Are there gender issues in Parliament? Should there be more women elected to Parliament and, if so, how does that happen?
A: Internationally, the move is to increase the number of women in legislatures. We, in the Pacific, are seen as the less active in that area. I believe we should have more active women members in Parliament. At the moment we have three women in Parliament. Is that enough? I don’t think so – I don’t think it’s balanced enough.
A lot of people argue that we have a male-dominated society. I don’t believe that is true anymore. Our perception of what kind of society we have is changing. We are now beginning to realize that we need women and men everywhere, including this House. The question is, how can they be included in this chamber. There is some thought that a number of seats in the House be allocated exclusively to women. I disagree with that. If we do that, then we are promoting discrimination. We have a huge community of women out there who are very, very active. I feel if our women can be more supportive of the women candidates, they will get in.
Q: Maybe women are smart enough to know not to go into politics.
A: I think they are smart, except they don’t get that male support. I still think there are women out there who still feel that men are the qualified leaders of this nation. We need to change that mentality. I’m really concerned that we don’t have that many women contesting in the upcoming election.
Q: Are we ever going to see a woman prime minister in the Cook Islands?
A: It’s a long way off.

By John Ireland

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