BY IRWIN ANGIKI
A press gallery is needed in the Solomon Islands parliament for greater transparency and increased communication between our representatives and the people.
And, we are looking forward to having one this year.
A visit to Australia in early December last year opened the eyes of participating local journalists to the benefits (and challenges) of having a press gallery at the parliament house.
The visit, organised and funded by the Australian government for local media in Solomon Islands, introduced journalists to democratic institutions and activities.
One highlight of the programme was a visit to the parliament house in Canberra, where the media personnel were shown through the various chambers where the great country’s legislations are deliberated on and forged.
A tour was also made through dedicated hallways of the huge parliament complex which displayed on the walls and stalls the documented history of representation of the First Nation people.
ABC’s Foreign Affairs (Asia Pacific) reporter Stephen Dziedzic then took the visitors on a tour of the Australian press gallery, explaining the nitty gritty of capturing the legislature’s processes, key players, related issues, providing background and context, live and pre-recorded interviews, etc – all in real time.
Mr Dziedzic explained that the federal parliamentary press gallery is a group which consists of more than 250 journalists and support staff who are based full-time at the Federal Parliament House in Canberra.
These media personnel come from various media organisations in Australia comprising journalists, editors, producers and camera crew.
The main role of the press gallery is to monitor and report (let the Australian people know) on the activities of the Australian parliament and the federal government.
How much more transparent can one get! Solomon Islands parliament and public need this.
Dziedzic explained that journalists sit in press galleries which overlook the House of Representatives and the Senate, and record debates, votes and question time.
Journalists conduct ‘doorstop’ interviews as MPs arrive or leave the building and hold formal interviews in specialised on-site radio and television studios.
Solomon Islands journos were led into the ABC’s studio where Dziedzic introduced them to the ABC team and briefed on how information gets from the legislation chambers, doorstops or press conferences to the news bulletin – TV, social media, audio online, etc.
Other functions of the press gallery include members attending briefings and press conferences called by the Prime Minister, ministers and other MPs to ask questions and scrutinise policy.
Press gallery members also observe and report on Senate estimates and various parliamentary committee hearings.
The gallery acts as a direct democratic watchdog by investigating the facts behind government decisions. This displaying media’s job of holding power to account, which often makes media to be regarded as the ‘Fourth Estate’.
During the visit it was also made clear that having a press gallery also comes with ‘risks’. Such as, gallery member journos developing an overly close relationship with the politicians thus impacting their work as independent and objective observers.
In the Solomons, there are other risks – one of which is that many media houses do not have specialised or experienced journalists with deep savvy on politics, parliamentary processes, legislations and what they mean to the ordinary Solomon Islander, the economy or international relations.
The overall outcome of this problem is the risk of publishing inaccurate information, or publications which do not fully inform public.
This is something Opposition Leader Matthew Wale cautioned media about during an interview with Tavuli News on January 31, 2024.
“Media articles on [specialised issues], they clearly don’t know what they’re talking about… They’re just publishing for the sake of publishing. So, it does not educate the public… that’s not good media.
“So, I think there’s a responsibility there for the media to continually challenge itself to be better informed, better educated, especially when you’re dealing with the more specialised areas of information and discourse,” Wale said.
The onus is on individual media houses, the media association and partners to prop media up in light of the plan to have a press gallery.
The Solomon Islands parliament admin team with the help of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy has made some steps towards educating media on parliamentary processes with a series of workshops held last year.
The last workshop in the series, held in October, doubled down on the idea to eventually create a press gallery.
Acting Director for Parliamentary Media, Communications and Engagement Unit, Duane Baiabe, told Island Sun at the October workshop that it is their hope to bring a press gallery in 2026.
But leading up to this, the parliament team said it would first work towards creating a communication strategy which would allow journalists more access to parliament activities and the politicians, but more importantly ensure more accurate reporting.
“At the same time, we are working towards creating communications strategy for national parliament which will be good to guide us in terms of reporting and to also assist journalists for much more accurate reporting,” Mr Baiabe said.
This could be seen as prolonging the process towards achieving a press gallery, or it could be a critical build-up towards it.
It is hoped that the communication strategy will not set up censors to protect the politicians, rather educate and help journalists get the correct information needed and provide context if required.
This would further develop journalists who will be dedicated to cover politics as we head towards the creation of our very own national parliament press gallery.
Photo: Supplied
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