Government Whip, Cole Simons tabled a motion to bring Bermuda’s Parliamentary standards in line with those set by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).The motion calls for the establishment of a Joint Select Committee to examine, make recommendations and report its findings to the House on the Legislature’s management structure and governance.The aim he said, will be to “ensure that Bermuda’s Legislature meets standards prescribed in the CPA benchmarks to provide an efficient and effective parliamentary service to the people of Bermuda”.The benchmarks were established by a study group hosted by the Bermuda Legislature in 2006 on behalf of the CPA and the World Bank Institute for legislatures in the Caribbean, America and Atlantic regions.It was noted at that conference that to a large extent, these emerging democracies “have patterned the structure and functions of their parliamentary institutions from their colonial heritage”.The report said: “Rapidly developing knowledge-based and technology-driven societies have placed legislatures under intense scrutiny in the areas of transparency, accountability, effectiveness and fairness and this Region is no exception.”Said Mr Simons: “Bermuda’s Parliament was set up in the old colonial days and democracies, like politics, have evolved since then. We recognise that we have to bring Parliaments in line with current times as things have evolved.“We basically have to move forward in line with what people expect from their Parliament and to do that we need to do a complete review. Most regions have already done it, Bermuda is in the process of doing it now,” he said.The CPA report said: “Throughout the business environment, the need for greater efficiency and effectiveness has produced various models for measuring organisational effectiveness.“Likewise, Commonwealth democratic Legislatures have responded to these external and in some instances internal pressures, by the development of Benchmarks to assess their effectiveness.“The real ‘Separation of Powers’ may look well on paper but in principle is it a reality? Our Parliament should be provided with the necessary resources to enable members to fulfil their responsibilities.”When contacted last night, Mr Simons said: “Given the ever developing knowledge based and technology driven societies, Bermuda’s House of Assembly’s operating model is dated.“It must adjust itself to be effective and efficient in providing parliamentary services for today’s information age society.“Our parliamentary system of Government is a system that exists to express the will of the people and through that expression, produce decisions better their lives,” he added. “The practice of Parliamentary Government across the globe has evolved over time as legislatures adapt and adopt new practices and standards to improve their effectiveness and legitimacy.“It should also be noted that with the rapidly developing knowledge based and technology driven societies have placed legislatures under intense scrutiny in the areas of transparency, accountability, effectiveness and fairness,” he added.The next CPA Conference will be held in August, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The last conference attended by Mr Simons was held in 2002 in Namibia.