Whanganui and Te Tai Hauāuru MPs join parliamentary delegation to Pacific

Te Tai Hauāuru MP Adrian Rurawhe and Whanganui MP Harete Hipango will visit the Pacific as part of a parliamentary delegation.

Local members of Parliament will be part of a delegation to the Pacific next week.

Whanganui MP Harete Hipango and Te Tai Hauāuru MP Adrian Rurawhe will join Speaker Trevor Mallard and MPs Tim Macindoe and Jo Hayes on the parliamentary delegation to Tonga (October 28-29) and Fiji (October 30-November 1).

They will meet women leaders in Parliament, youth leaders, business and the community. The schedule includes a visit to the Fiji Women's Crisis Centre.

The delegation will also meet the Speakers of both nations and hopes to meet Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama. The delegation will visit sites of New Zealand development assistance, and meet New Zealanders working in the two nations.

"The Pacific region is incredibly important to New Zealand," Mallard said.

"Our Parliament provides practical and technical support to Pacific parliaments to strengthen their democracies, and this delegation will look at where we can focus our capacity-building assistance.

"We will also look to gain insights into the current political and economic landscape in Tonga and Fiji, while making personal connections and building relationships with our parliamentary colleagues."

It will be the second parliamentary delegation to the Pacific, following a visit to Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands last year.