MHKs Claire Christian and Rob Callister will attend the 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Australia early next month.

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, founded in 1911, is an international community of nearly 180 parliaments and legislatures.

November’s five-day event in Sydney will be the association’s 67th conference, and it will bring together over 600 parliamentarians, parliamentary staff and decision makers from across the Commonwealth. 

Ms Christian and Mr Callister have been elected by members of the Isle of Man Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association to represent Tynwald at this conference.

The IoM branch of the CPA is made up of more than 70 current and former parliamentarians, with President of Tynwald Laurence Skelly MLC and Speaker of the House of Keys Juan Watterson joint presidents alongside Chief Minister Alfred Cannan as vice president.

Ms Christian and Mr Callister will travel to Australia by economy class and all flight costs are funded by CPA.

The theme for this year’s conference is 'Engage, Empower, Sustain: Charting the Course for Resilient Democracy'. 

With parliamentarians from around the world, Tynwald delegates will have the opportunity to attend workshops and discuss topics of interest including: digital innovation, modernisation, and the use of Artificial Intelligence in legislatures; immigration; national climate planning – moving from commitment to scalable action; legislating against gender-based violence; and creating inclusive elections for persons with disabilities.

The Deputy Clerk of Tynwald, Joann Corkish, will also attend the conference to both support the members and to attend the meetings for the Society of Clerks at the Table (SoCATT).

This will will provide her with the opportunity to discuss matters relating to parliamentary procedure, privilege and practice with officials from other legislatures.

Details of any other costs, including accommodation, will be published in due course on the Tynwald website.