The 47^th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference was attended by delegates from 56 countries, representing some 150 Parliaments and Assemblies. The Northern Ireland Branch was represented by Rev Robert Coulter MLA, Jim Wells MLA, Arthur Moir and Gerry Cosgrave.

The official opening of the Conference took place in Melbourne on Friday 7 September 2001 at the Royal Exhibition Building, which had been the seat of the Australian Parliament before its move to Canberra.

Members of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association were welcomed to Melbourne by a representative of the Wurundjeri people, the original inhabitants of the area. The delegates were then addressed by Senator the Hon Margaret Reid, the CPA President, the Right Rev Dr Peter Hollingworth, the Governor-General of Australia, the Hon John Howard, the Prime Minister of Australia, and the Hon Kim Beazley, the Leader of the Opposition. A vote of thanks was proposed by the Hon Kandy Nehova, the CPA Vice-President.

Following a musical interlude provided by the Australian Girls' Choir and the Australian Army Band, the CPA Secretary-General, Arthur Donahoe, briefed delegates on the format of the Conference.

The delegates were then transported to Government House for a reception hosted by the Governor of Victoria, His Excellency John Landy.

This year marks the centenary of the Commonwealth of Australia and, to symbolise the transfer of the Australian Parliament from Melbourne to Canberra, the Conference moved over the weekend to Canberra.

On Monday 10 September the first Plenary session took place in the Great Hall of the Federal Parliament Building in Canberra. The theme of the session was "Reassessing the Profession of Politics to Raise the Public Perception of Parliaments and Parliamentarians".

The President of the CPA, Senator the Hon Margaret Reid, opened the session by welcoming delegates and observers. She then explained that unfortunately the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Don McKinnon, was unable to attend the Conference because he was actively involved in seeking a solution to the land dispute in Zimbabwe. Senator Reid introduced Mr Winston Cox, the Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General who gave the opening address. In a wide-ranging speech, Mr Cox identified the challenges facing the Commonwealth at this time and discussed the issue of globalisation. Mr Cox also commended the work of the CPA and paid tribute to the outgoing Secretary-General Mr Arthur Donahue. (The text of Mr Cox's speech is set out in Appendix A.)

Senator Reid explained that, over the next two days, delegates would divide into workshops to discuss six topics. She then introduced the following speakers who gave introductory presentations on the topics:-

Mrs Cheryl Gillan MP, United Kingdom - Strengthening Parliament's Role in the Battle against Corruption in Public Life;

The Hon Naledi Pandor MP, South Africa - Property Alleviation;

Dr Lesley Clark MLA, Queensland - Gender Sensitising Parliaments in the Commonwealth;

Senator Dato Ghazi Ramli, Malaysia - Towards being a Professional Knowledge-based Parliamentarian;

Mrs Margaret Alva MP, India - Combatting International Trafficking of People;

Mr Mauril Belanger MP, Canada - Should Scientific Advances be subjected to Legislative and Regulatory Measures.

After each presentation 3 delegates were permitted to comment briefly on the topic.

At the conclusion of the first Plenary session a series of regional meetings were held and the Northern Ireland delegation attended the British Islands and Mediterranean Region meeting, where it was agreed that the Falkland Islands should represent the region on the Executive. The Regional Secretary will send the Minutes of this meeting to the Northern Ireland Branch Secretary in the near future.

Following the Regional meeting delegates were taken on a guided tour of the Australian capital before attending a reception at the British High Commission.

On Tuesday 11 September there were meetings of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians and the Society of Clerks-at-Table.

The other delegates attended workshops on "Strengthening Parliament's Oversight Role in the Battle against Corruption", "Poverty Alleviation" and "Gender Sensitising Parliaments in the Commonwealth".

Members of the Society of Clerks-at-Table attended 4 panel sessions on "Independence of the Legislature Secretariat", "New Technology and its Impact on Information Management in Parliament", "Enhancing Public Perception of Parliament" and "Co-Operation and a Federal System".

Wednesday's deliberations were overshadowed by the tragic events in the USA and each session began with a period of silence in memory of those who had died.

On the morning of Wednesday 12 September attendees again separated, and each event commenced with a period of silence in recognition of the tragic events in the USA. The delegates and observers attended workshops on "Towards being a Professional Knowledge-based Parliamentarian", "Combatting International Trafficking of People" and "Should Scientific Advances be subject to Legislative and Regulatory Measures", while the Society of Clerks-at-Table discussed the findings of Tuesday's 4 panel sessions. (A brief report of the Society of Clerks-at-Table meeting and reports on its panel session are set out in Appendix C.) Full reports of the panel sessions and the subsequent discussion will be contained in the official report of the Conference, are to be sent to the Branch Secretary later this year.

In the afternoon all participants attended the General Assembly Meeting of the CPA. The delegates approved the issue of an Emergency Statement condemning the attacks on New York and Washington and expressing sympathy to all those whose lives have been traumatised by the attacks. (A brief report of this meeting is set out in Appendix D.) A copy of the Minutes of the Meeting will be sent to the Branch Secretary later this year. During the meeting the Northern Ireland Branch was welcomed out of abeyance and the Rev Robert Coulter expressed the Branch's thanks to the CPA.

The final Plenary session took place on Thursday 13 September, when reports on the workshops were presented and debated. (Copies of the reports are set out in Appendix E.) Presentations were made to outgoing members of the Executive Committee and the new Secretary-General Mr Denis Marshall paid tribute to his predecessor, Mr Arthur Donahoe.

Since the Northern Ireland Branch was being welcomed out of abeyance, it was obviously important that the Branch should be represented at the Conference. The Branch's representatives are in broad agreement that the Conference was very useful for a number of reasons. For example:

Ÿ it gave the Branch representatives an opportunity to contribute to discussions in workshop sessions and to bring reports of those sessions back to the Branch;

Ÿ many delegates from other countries were interested in the situation in Northern Ireland and the Branch representatives were able to explain the political structures and the current political situation;

Ÿ useful contacts were made with Branches and individuals, who have indicated a willingness to share experiences and information in the future;

Ÿ Clerks from Scotland, Wales and some of the Canadian and Australian Parliaments expressed an interest in taking some officials on secondment, in the event of the Northern Ireland Assembly being suspended;

Ÿ it enabled the Branch representatives to gain useful information about the hosting of international conferences.