The Commonwealth Parliamentarian of the Year 2024 Awards have been announced at the 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in New South Wales.
The CPA Secretary-General, Stephen Twigg said:
“The Commonwealth Parliamentarian of the Year Awards aligns with our strategic objective of promoting the Commonwealth values of parliamentary democracy and sustainable development to a wide audience. Through these annual awards, the CPA recognises and highlights the invaluable contributions that Parliamentarians are making to their local communities within the Commonwealth.”
Hon. Khurram Ijaz Chattha, MPA, a Member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab in Pakistan has been announced as the recipient of the 2024 Commonwealth Parliamentarian of the Year Award in recognition of his parliamentary service and promoting good governance.
Hon. Gail Teixeira, MP from the Parliament of Guyana was awarded the 2024 Parliamentarian Life-time Achievement Award after 32 years of parliamentary service and Deputy Raluca Kovacs from the States Assembly in Jersey was awarded the 2024 New Parliamentarian Award in recognition of her contribution to promoting parliamentary democracy after only being elected two years ago.
Hon. Alex Greenwich, MP from the Parliament of New South Wales was awarded the 2024 Parliamentary Equality and Diversity Award in recognition of his commitment to LGBT+ Rights, reproductive rights and marriage equality in Australia. He is recognised for his role as a co-sponsor for the 2019 Reproductive Healthcare Reform Bill which decriminalised abortion in New South Wales and in 2021, he co-sponsored the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill which allowed eligible persons in New South Wales to access voluntary assisted dying services.
He was the co-chair of the successful YES campaign that delivered marriage equality in Australia in 2017 and has introduced the Equality Legislation Amendment (LGBTIQA+) Bill 2023 which is currently before the Legislative Assembly and will provide full equality for LGBT+ communities in New South Wales by amending 20 Parliamentary Acts.
As part of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s mission to strengthen parliamentary democracy through the promotion of good governance and sharing best practice, the awards were launched in 2022 to recognise and highlight inspirational and active Parliamentarians for excelling in their field.
CPA Awards are open to nominees who are current Parliamentarians* across the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s unique membership includes almost 180 national, state, provincial and territorial Legislatures. The next awards will be open for nominees in 2025.
* Nominees should be sitting Members of Parliament in a Commonwealth Legislature or have been a sitting Member of Parliament in a Commonwealth Legislature in the award period. The award can be made posthumously. Please check the CPA website for full nomination criteria.
One of the largest gatherings of Commonwealth Parliamentarians, the 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference brought together over 700 Parliamentarians, parliamentary staff and decision makers from across the Commonwealth for this unique conference and networking opportunity.
The 67th CPC was the first time that the CPA New South Wales Branch hosted the event and the first time that an Australian State or Territory hosted the CPA annual conference.
During the 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, there were also a number of additional conferences and meetings including: 40th CPA Small Branches Conference; 8th Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Conference; meetings of the Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities (CPwD) network; the CPA General Assembly and meetings of the CPA Executive Committee; and the 58th Society of Clerks at the Table (SOCATT) meetings.
During the conference, a number of elections also took place for the Chairperson of the CPA Executive Committee, the CPA Small Branches Chairperson and the CPA Vice-Chairperson.
