54th Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference for Pacific and Australia Regions in Nauru
Parliamentarians from the Pacific and Australia Regions have met for the 54th Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference (POCC), hosted by Parliament of Nauru from 8 to 10 July 2025 on a theme of ‘Independent Parliaments, Strengthening Democracy: The Power of Parliamentary Autonomy’.
More than 25 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, Bougainville, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Niue, Fiji and the Australian State Parliaments.
Delegates were welcomed by the Speaker of the Nauru Parliament, Hon. Marcus Stephen, MP and the Acting President of Nauru, Lionel Aingimea to a POCC meeting held on the theme of autonomous and independent Parliaments with sessions on strengthening Parliamentary Independence and Administration, Financial Autonomy, Budget Control and Enhancing Legislative Oversight and Accountability.
Above: Parliamentarians at the 54th Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference (POCC) at the Parliament of Nauru. Photos: Government of Nauru Media.
The annual POCC 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 from Legislatures 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.
The next 55th Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference (POCC) is due to be hosted by the Parliament of Western Australia in July 2026.
Please note: The annual Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference (POCC) is not a CPA event but is organised by the Parliaments of the Pacific and Australia Regions.
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The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association connects, develops, promotes and supports Parliamentarians and their staff to identify benchmarks of good governance and the implementation of the enduring values of the Commonwealth. The CPA is an international community of around 180 Commonwealth Parliaments and Legislatures working together to deepen the Commonwealth’s commitment to the highest standards of democratic governance.
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