Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Australian parliamentary delegation to the 53rd Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in India and to the Republic of the Philippines from 24 September to 5 October 2007. This report covers the Australian parliamentary delegation which attended the 53rd Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in India in September 2007 and then made a bilateral visit to the Philippines.

The annual conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association is a key activity in furthering the association’s aims of improving understanding and cooperation among Commonwealth parliamentarians and promoting the study of, and respect for, parliamentary democracy. The conference theme was Delivering Democracy and Sustainable Development. Six workshops and three plenary sessions addressed a wide range of topics around this theme. I had the opportunity to lead the discussion on global water and energy use and the President of the Senate, Senator Ferguson, led the discussion on the role, rights and responsibilities of the opposition.

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