cally partisan Member of cabinet.We hope to publish the government’s conclusions when the review of the role of the Attorney General is complete in the near future.
The involvement of a political figure in legal areas is also a concern among some in Malaysia, but for a different reason. Malaysia’s Deputy Speaker, Hon. Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tunku Jaafar, MP, writes here that in his country the appointment of judges is made on the advice of the Prime Minister.The head of the executive is not completely free in his or her provision of such advice, as some consultations with the judicial profession are required. But Datuk Wan Junaidi proposes a change to the appointment process to take the recommendations even further away from the executive, including some parliamentary involve- ment in certain aspects of the employment of judges. This would ensure, he suggests, that in future the principle of the separation of the judiciary and the executive is not in jeopardy. Parliamentary democracy has had a difficult time in the Indian Ocean island of Seychelles which has at various times since independence has had an execu- tive-dominated government system, a lack of a strong parliamentary tradition and financial difficulties which made it hard for the current National Assembly to play its full role in the Commonwealth parliamentary community. Hon. Dr Patrick Herminie, MP, Speaker of the National Assembly of Seychelles, is determined to change that. He has embarked on a programme to strengthen the National Assembly, including its oversight function, with the support of the Commonwealth and wider international commu- nity and with the support of the government whose activities he wants the Assembly to oversee. Dr Herminie writes in this issue about developments in his country during its “Year of the Constitution”. One of the considerations in assessing areas for
improving parliamentary democracy today is to deter- mine how the rapidly evolving world of technology can help. Hon. Steve Rodan, SHK, Speaker of the House of Keys in the Isle of Man, and his officials carefully scrutinized voice recognition software and ventured forward to become, they believe, the first Commonwealth House to produce its Hansard using this new technology. Speaker Rodan notes that it isn’t perfect and it still needs the human editorial touch; but it is a fast, pretty accurate and less expensive way to produce the official record. Another target of strengthening programmes in
virtually every Commonwealth country is rural socie- ty.The need for strengthening is most acute in devel- oping societies which need rural productivity and
292 The Parliamentarian 2008/Issue Four
cannot absorb their rural populations into their cities. This is the case in Pakistan, as Hon. Kiramatullah Khan, MPA, Speaker of the Provincial Assembly of North West Frontier Province, writes in this issue. He lays out a set of priorities to maintain vibrant and productive rural communities. Sadly, achieving these priorities is often impeded by natural disasters. Mr Speaker Khan also writes here on the devastation his area suffered from recent floods. Another devastating infliction for many develop- ing societies is HIV/AIDS. Initially a nation on course to be decimated by the disease, Uganda has turned the epidemic around and is now in forefront of the global anti-AIDS campaign. Mr Alex Byarugaba Bakunda, MP, a Member of the National Assembly, writes here how the country sum- moned up the political will and embarked on imagi- native and successful programmes to control the spread of HIV/AIDS and treat its victims. Some threats are more subtle than others, and they
can rise up again without warning just when they seem to have been put down. Norfolk Islanders know this as well as anyone. Barely two years ago, their form of internal self-government under Australia was suc- cessfully defended when the federal government backed away from a constitutional challenge to the right of the Islanders to run their community. Now, writes the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, Mrs Robin Eleanor Adams, JP, Canberra is talking about another challenge and, yet again, the Islanders are standing up for their right to govern themselves. The Norfolk Island Assembly is fortunate to have
an experienced Clerk like Mrs Adams. Many others are not so fortunate.All too often, civil servants are parachuted into the parliamentary service – some- times into the top post – with no prior experience in this unique environment and often, especially in small Parliaments, with no one to turn to for advice. Now, thanks to the internet, the World Bank Institute, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and the Society of Clerks-at-the-Table, there is an on-line training programme for parliamentary staff. Dr Rick Stapenhurst and Ms Brooke Prater of the World Bank Institute report here on the programme, how it evolved and what it can offer parliamentary officials of all levels of experience. Another programme the CPA offers with the
World Bank Institute is the La Trobe University Public Accounts Committee Summer School.This year’s course at the Victorian university enabled a dedicated group of Parliamentarians, clerks and audi- tors to formulate challenging goals to make their own PACs – and therefore their governments and