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Published in:
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2016 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

6. Compulsory Professional Development for Members of Parliament

Author : Adj. Prof. Colleen Lewis

Published in: Parliamentarians’ Professional Development

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

Being a member of parliament is a highly important and influential job, as their determinations have a profound effect on the lives of the population they are elected to serve. Despite having to make decisions on extremely complex issues, parliamentarians, unlike other professions are not required to attend professional development programs. Nor do they undergo any form of testing to ensure that they understand even the basic elements of their job. This chapter asks if this is a satisfactory situation in today’s knowledge-based society or should it be compulsory for parliamentarians, as opposed to candidates, to engage in professional development programs throughout their time in office?

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Footnotes
1
While several researchers use the terms orientation and induction interchangeably, Fox and Korris (2012) distinguish between them. They define orientation as the “basic information, support and services” provided to MPs in the week following a general election. Induction they refer to as the “support and services” provided from the second week and encompass briefing sessions and “more individually tailored training and development opportunities” for MPs. This chapter will distinguish between the two in much the same way. However, the author notes that in some jurisdictions, orientation programs may not take place the week after an election and induction may not commence in the second week.
 
2
The classification of parliamentarians as a profession is arguable (see Lewis and Neesham 2011). However, for the purpose of this paper, which is not about the classification of professions and occupations, the term ‘profession’ will be used when referring to the role of MP.
 
3
Exceptions to this are people deemed to be of unsound mind and in several countries people who are prisoners or former prisoners.
 
4
Constituency, electorate and ridings are used by different parliaments to denote the geographical area (the seat) a MP represents. For the purpose of this paper, the word constituency will be used when referring to all three.
 
5
While newly elected MPs are not obliged to attend orientation programs, nearly all choose to do so. The same cannot be said of them and other MPs in relation to induction and other forms of professional development.
 
6
The author wishes to acknowledge, with sincere thanks, the information provided by Australia’s Federal House of Representatives and its Senate and by the Parliament in the Australian State of Victoria.
 
7
The information used in relation to the Federal House of Representatives, the Senate and the Victorian Parliament, précised in this section, is derived from information supplied to the author by these chambers. It came in the form of emails and email attachments and has been retained for research-related verification.
 
8
The 42 included 3 former Senators in the previous parliament and 2 previous members of earlier parliaments, the 41st and 42nd Parliaments.
 
9
In Australia, Federal Senators are theoretically elected to represent the interests of their state/territory. However, over the years the Senate has also become a House of Review.
 
10
Having to prove effective presentation skills is something the UK parliament took into account when designing its 2010 program. Unlike previous programs, it was no longer sufficient to be a senior official with relevant expertise. The GEPG required presenters to attend professional training and each briefing session was road-tested before it was delivered to MPs (Fox and Korris 2012, p. 567).
 
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Metadata
Title
Compulsory Professional Development for Members of Parliament
Author
Adj. Prof. Colleen Lewis
Copyright Year
2016
Book
Parliamentarians’ Professional Development

Print ISBN: 978-3-319-24179-1

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-24181-4

Copyright Year: 2016

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24181-4_6

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