Leon Teter was representing Vanuatu at a gathering of the region's speakers and clerks in Wellington this week.
He said it was an opportunity to learn about rules and practices, including how parliaments can run more smoothly.
Mr Teter said Vanuatu has seen decades of reform mainly aimed at the public service, but parliament itself has gone largely untouched.
This allowed pressure to build ahead of the 2016 political crisis, when the president stepped in to dissolve parliament after half a government was jailed.