Parliamentarians from the Australia and Pacific Regions have met for the 53rd Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference (POCC), hosted by Parliament of South Australia in Adelaide from 8 to 12 July 2024.

More than 50 Presiding Officers, Speakers and Clerks from 18 Parliaments in the Pacific and Australia Regions attended the conference including Australia Federal, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Vanuatu, Bougainville, Tuvalu, Tonga, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Fiji and the Australian State Parliaments.

The POCC conference was attended by the CPA President, Hon. Ben Franklin, MLC, President of the Legislative Council of New South Wales who updated Members and Clerks on the plans for the 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Sydney later this year.

The CPA Small Branches Chairperson, Joy Burch, MLA, Speaker of the Australian Capital Territory also highlighted the work of the network in supporting the smallest Parliaments in the Commonwealth.

The annual conference is hosted by a different Parliament each year for the Parliaments of Australia and the Pacific, and it is open to Presiding Officers and Clerks from Legislatures across the two Regions.

In the margins of the conference, there were also meetings held between the twinned Parliaments of the CPA Pacific and CPA Australia Regions. The twinning project supports parliamentary strengthening, training and exchanges across the two Regions.

The next 54th Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference (POCC) will be hosted by the Parliament of Nauru in July 2025.

Please note: The annual Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference (POCC) is not a CPA event but is organised by the Parliaments of the Pacific and Australia Regions.