40th CPA Small Branches Conference in New South Wales
Parliamentarians examine practical solutions for building a sustainable and innovative future for the smallest jurisdictions across the Commonwealth at 40th CPA Small Branches Conference
Commonwealth Parliamentarians met at the 40th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Small Branches Conference from 4 to 5 November 2024 to examine practical solutions for building a sustainable and innovative future for the smallest jurisdictions.
The conference discussed strategies to meet the unique developmental needs of the CPA’s smallest Legislatures through key thematic workshops that helped to build parliamentary capacity for Members and parliamentary staff while also creating greater opportunities for the sharing of knowledge, parliamentary strengthening and cooperation across the network.
Above: Delegates at the 40th CPA Small Branches Conference in New South Wales. Click here for more images from the event.
The outgoing CPA Small Branches Chairperson, Joy Burch, MLA, Speaker of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly said:
“The CPA Small Branches Conference helps to build capacities for the small Parliaments and Legislatures of the Commonwealth and create greater and more constant opportunities for the sharing of knowledge and cooperation across the CPA network. The CPA Small Branches come together to address their common difficulties, common strengths and their shared experiences.”
The CPA Secretary-General, Stephen Twigg said:
“The CPA works with its Small Branches network across the Commonwealth in strengthening parliamentary democracy. The smallest of the CPA’s Legislatures seek to meet the same expectations of service delivery as larger Legislatures and in doing so, they recognise the importance of constantly innovating in the face of fiscal and human resource constraints; and the threats in the face of natural disasters and climate change to some of the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable.”
The CPA Small Branches Conference included four plenary sessions exploring key themes proposed by the Membership:
- Strengthening Parliaments through twinning: Lessons from the Australia-Pacific Partnerships;
- Accelerating digital innovation for resilience and growth in small jurisdictions;
- Balancing tradition and innovation: Modernising the Westminster system in small jurisdictions; and
- a joint workshop with the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) network – Gender and National Climate Planning: moving from commitment to scalable action.
The CPA Small Branches network also elected Hon. Valerie Woods, Speaker of the National Assembly of Belize as the new CPA Small Branches Chairperson at the conference. Read more about the newly elected CPA Small Branches Chairperson.
In the margins of the conference, the CPA Small Branches Steering Committee met to discuss the strategic direction for the network.
Above: The CPA Small Branches Steering Committee met at the New South Wales Parliament ahead of the 40th CPA Small Branches Conference. Click here for more images of the event.
The CPA Small Branches Steering Committee comprises the CPA Small Branches Chairperson and nine Commonwealth Parliamentarians who represent the nine Regions of the CPA with Small Branches: Africa; Asia; Australia; British Isles and the Mediterranean; Canada; Caribbean, Americas and the Atlantic; India; Pacific; and South-East Asia.
Of the almost 180 Branches of the CPA, fifty Branches are classified as ‘Small Branches’. The classification for CPA Small Branches was changed by the CPA General Assembly in 2022 to raise the population threshold to one million people. Examples of CPA Small Branches include Commonwealth countries such as Barbados and Tonga, as well UK Overseas Territories such as Turks and Caicos or states and provinces within larger countries like Northwest Territories in Canada or the Northern Territory in Australia.
The 40th CPA Small Branches Conference took place as part of the wider 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
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.
-ENDS-
Further information about the 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) can be found at the official conference website and also at the 67th CPC Hub.
On social media follow the hashtag #67CPC
Images of the 67th CPC are also available at the CPA's Flickr page.
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) organises its annual Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) to address global political issues and developments in the parliamentary system through conference workshops and sessions for leading Parliamentarians representing Parliaments and Legislatures throughout the Commonwealth.
The CPA is an international community of almost 180 Commonwealth Parliaments and Legislatures working together to deepen the Commonwealth’s commitment to the highest standards of democratic governance.
For media enquiries, please contact communications@cpahq.org.
