John Hogg (Queensland, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I present the report of the 38th Conference of Presiding Officers and Clerks, which was held in Raratonga, Cook Islands, from 7 to 14 July 2007, together with the report of proceedings. I seek leave to move a motion to take note of the document.

Leave granted.

I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

The report is quite comprehensive, so I will be very brief. I would like to put on the public record my thanks to the President for giving me the opportunity to attend in his place this meeting of Presiding Officers. The Senate was represented by Dr Jacqueline Dewar, representing the Clerk of the Senate, and Senator Alan Ferguson in his capacity as the Australian regional representative of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for the Arts and Sport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Brandis interjecting—

John Hogg (Queensland, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As a matter of fact, Senator Brandis, it was a very enlightening—

John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What were the beaches like?

John Hogg (Queensland, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I won’t go into that, Senator Faulkner. If one reads the report, one will find that a comprehensive program was organised. In particular, I draw to the attention of members of the Senate a paper that I submitted to the conference. It was entitled ‘My conscience, my vote’ and it was meant to stimulate and provoke debate at the conference, which it certainly did.

I must commend Dr Jacqueline Dewar for her assistance throughout the conference to me and Senator Ferguson in dealing with technical issues that were raised at the conference. I also want to thank on the public record the Speaker, Mr Mapu Taia, and the Clerk, Mr Nga Valoa, of the Cook Islands parliament for their hospitality and for their organisation of the conference, which was very well handled and organised by such a small parliament. It shows what can be achieved when people apply themselves in circumstances where they have to really step up to the mark. They enabled us to have all of the facilities that we would have elsewhere, including good internet access to enable us to constantly be in touch with our emails and access to other facilities that we need for our parliamentary duties. I record my thanks once again to the President of the Senate, and I commend the report to the Senate.

Question agreed to.