Parliamentarians from the Pacific and Australia Regions have focused on building strong and resilient Parliaments at the 52nd Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference (POCC), hosted by the National Parliament of Solomon Islands in Honiara from 2 to 6 July 2023. 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 and the Australian State Parliaments.

The Speaker of the National Parliament of Solomon Islands, Patteson J. Oti said: “The 52nd Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference provides a valuable opportunity for the Pacific Presiding Officers and Clerks to come together with our counterparts from across the Pacific and Australia Regions to exchange ideas, share experiences and expand our knowledge of parliamentary practice and procedure. The theme for the 52nd POCC of ‘Building Strong and Resilient Parliaments’ underscores our commitment to the development of robust democratic institutions in our Region.” The Speaker also made specific mention of the small Parliaments in the Region and the challenges that they face.

The POCC conference was attended by the CPA Small Branches Chairperson, Joy Burch, MLA, Speaker of the Australian Capital Territory who highlighted the work of the network in supporting the smallest Parliaments in the Commonwealth. In his keynote address, the President of the Congress of New Caledonia, Hon. Roch Wamytan, UC, highlighted the significance of strong parliamentary institutions and their role in shaping a better future for the Region. During the conference, delegates discussed the strengthening parliamentary security and how Parliaments can best meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world for the people they represent. They also participated in workshops and presented conference papers on a range of topics. Highlighting the importance of resilience and innovation, the President of the Australian Senate, Senator Hon. Sue Lines, the Speaker of the Solomon Islands, Hon. Patteson J. Oti and the Clerk of the Parliament of New South Wales, David Blunt provided insightful presentations on the innovative approaches and measures required for building resilient Parliaments that can adapt to the evolving challenges of the modern world.

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 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. This was the second time that the National Parliament of Solomon Islands has hosted the conference, the first being the 43rd POCC in July 2012. The 52nd POCC was supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Australian, New Zealand and Japanese Governments.

The next 53rd POCC will be hosted by the Parliament of South Australia in 2024.