Opening of the 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference

On 6 November, a Maltese delegation led by Deputy Speaker David Agius and comprised of Government Deputy Whip Davina Sammut Hili and Opposition Whip Robert Cutajar, attended the opening ceremony of the 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference being held in Sydney, Australia, which has the theme “Engage, Empower, Sustain: Charting the Course for Resilient Democracy”.

The ceremony was addressed by Margaret Beazley, Governor of New South Wales, Chris Minns, Premier of New South Wales, Greg Piper, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales, and Ben Franklin, President of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

In the margins of the opening ceremony, the delegation met with the Consul General of the Republic of Malta in Sydney, Mr Lawrence Buhagiar.

The delegation participated in a workshop about violence and abuse of parliamentarians across the Commonwealth, a workshop that discussed human trafficking, refugees and immigration across the Commonwealth, and a workshop that debated discriminatory legislation and gender-based violence.

Members of the delegation also had bilateral meetings with candidates for the position of Chairperson of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Assembly.