PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY IN NEW ZEELAND

The New Zeeland House of Representatives usually consists of 120 Members of Parliament (MPs), sometimes more due to overhang seats. 70 MPs are elected directly in electoral seats and the remainder are filled by list MPs based on each party's share of the party vote. The form of New Zeeland government essentially follows the Westminster system and the government is led by the Prime Minister and cabinet who are chosen from amongst the members of the House of Representatives.

PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY IN SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa is a constitutional democracy with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary. The national, provincial and local levels of government all have legislative and executive authority in their own spheres, and are defined in the Constitution as "distinctive, interdependent and interrelated". Operating at both national and provincial levels are advisory bodies drawn from South Africa's traditional leaders. It is a stated intention in the Constitution that the country be run on a system of co-operative governance.

AALEP CONGRATULATES MR. JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER AS ELECTED NEW EC PRESIDENT

422 votes in favour, the European Parliament elected Jean-Claude Juncker in a secret ballot on 15 July as President of the new European Commission to take office on 1 November 2014 for a five year term. The minimum number of votes required was 376.

For the first time in the history of the EU, the European Parliament elected - and not merely approved - the President of the European Commission following a proposal by the European Council, according to the rules laid down in the Lisbon Treaty (December 2009).

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DELEGATIONS AND PARLIAMENTARY DIPLOMACY (PARLOMACY)

There are several types of Delegations:

BRICS BUSINESS COUNCIL AND TOP 25 BUSINESS LEADERS

The BRICS Business Council was established during the BRICS Head of State Summit of 26-27 March 2013 held in Durban, South Africa. The BRICS Business Council consists of 25 entrepreneurs from the five BRICS countries (five from each country). All the 25 council members represent key enterprises in their own country which have global influence in a certain industry.

BRICS NATIONS LAUNCH NEW DEVELOPMENT BANK

The Sixth BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit will take place on 15 July in Fortaleza, Brazi. Leaders of the five BRICS nations fueling global economic growth will discuss strengthening ties within the bloc and rallying emerging economies to play a greater role in world affairs, economic and political. The theme of the 2014 summit is “inclusive growth: sustainable solutions”.

MR. JUNCKER HAS GOT TO MAKE HIS CASE

On 15 July, MEPs will hold a plenary debate with Mr Juncker in Strasbourg, before voting on his nomination to become Commission President. He will need at least 376 of 751 votes to win an absolute manjority.

RECOMMENDATIONS ON ENHANCING PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY TRANSPARENCY

In order to increase the transparency of their  public policy advocacy efforts, organisations  should take the following 10 steps regarding their efforts to influence public policy formation.

Step 1: Make public policy advocacy part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy

THE EP/EC TRANSPARENCY REGISTER NEEDS TO TACKLE DEFINITIONS

Based on the current EU concept, anyone aiming to influence policy [directly or indirectly influencing the formulation and implementation of policy and the decision-making processes of the EU institutions] is considered a lobbyist, although the register does not use this very term. The ambiguity of the EU Transparency Register results from a lack of definitions e.g. Who is Lobbyist, Who is a Lobbying Firm, What are Lobbying Activities, What is a Lobbying Contact.

GUIDANCE ON CORPORATE PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY OVERSIGHT

Businesses justify their public policy advocacy as intrinsic and essential to strategic management of their businesses, inasmuch as their business success or failure can be greatly influenced by government decisions. Top managers who recognize this dependence feel a responsibility to make known the effect of such decisions on their companies and to defend their companies’ interests against those of other companies or interest groups who are also active in the public policy advocacy arena.

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