By: Barry Soper | Monday, July 02, 2012 6:00 AM

As New Zealand hunkers down and prepares for another winter spare a thought for those selfless politicians who're doing God's Own's work in the Northern Hemisphere.

Their colleagues back home will be cooling their heels for the next fortnight as Parliament goes into hibernation, but five of them are at the moment winging their way to Europe on their sleepers on a trip that'll leave them all better informed to impart their infinite knowledge on their return.

Led by the man who knows that junket's more than just a milk based dessert, Parliament's father bear Lockjaw Smith.

The delegation's going to Croatia to get a better understanding of the Parliament there, we're told. Now that'd be an interesting lecture tour for them on their return. Or maybe they'll be in bigger demand for their insights on the European and Belgian Parliaments. Well they're expecting a comprehensive briefing, they tell us, on the current state of the Eurozone, which most of us would say is bleedingly obvious.

They're spending time in London where they'll get an update on Britain's position on the European Union's financial situation which is bound to have changed since the Prime Minister's update over dinner at Number 10 Downing Street a few weeks back - not.

But the London leg won't be totally a waste of time, while he's there Lockjaw could check out the High Commissioner's digs that he'll be occupying next year.

The onerous mission's being undertaken by the Tory Mt Albert bomb Melissa Lee, trade union stalwart Labour's Darien Fenton, the clean shaven lad, and that's without the need of a razor, they call the musterer, baby Kermit Gareth Hughes and Luigi Peters' man who still looks stunned about his good fortune of becoming an MP Dennis O'Rourke.

It's a tough job being The Speaker, around this time last year he had to lead a delegation to Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.

Now that, like the European slog, will be of immeasurable value to this country!

Photo: Lockwood Smith (NZ Herald)