Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I present the report of the Australian parliamentary delegation to the 66th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference, held in Accra, Ghana.

I seek leave to incorporate a tabling statement in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The statement read as follows—

The 66th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference (CPC) was held in Accra, Ghana from 1 to 5 October 2023, and was hosted by the Parliament of Ghana and the CPA Ghana Branch. The conference was chaired by the Rt Hon. Alban Bagbin MP, Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana and President of the CPA (2022-2023).

Over 600 delegates, observers and officials from member parliaments, representing 102 CPA Branches attended the 66th CPC. The Commonwealth of Australia Branch of the CPA was represented by a parliamentary delegation comprising of Ms Sharon Claydon MP, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Hon. Karen Andrews MP and myself as delegation lead.

The theme of the 2023 conference was 'The Commonwealth Charter 10 years on: Values and Principles for Parliaments to Uphold'. Delegates endorsed reports from the three CPA networks: the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP), the Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities (CPwD) and the CPA Small Branches.

On behalf of the delegation, I would also like to thank Her Excellency Berenice Owen-Jones, Australian High Commissioner to Ghana and her staff for providing valuable support and briefing and for the additional visits to Australian funded projects. The High Commissioner provided opportunities for the delegation to meet with local NGOs, groups and individuals to gain an understanding of the culture in Ghana and the some of challenges that people face.

I look forward to the next Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference—the 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) that will be hosted by the CPA New South Wales Branch and the Parliament of New South Wales in November this year.

Senator the Hon. Sue Lines

President of the Senate