The Governor and Mrs Dawson welcomed parliamentary leaders from across Australia and the Pacific to Government House for a reception marking the 55th Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference (POCC), hosted this year by the Parliament of Western Australia.
The annual conference brings together Presiding Officers and Clerks from around 18 parliaments across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, providing an important opportunity to exchange ideas, strengthen professional relationships and share innovations in parliamentary procedure, administration and governance.
In welcoming delegates, the Governor reflected on the enduring importance of democratic institutions and the people who uphold them.
“For this gathering to now be in its 55th year is a reminder of the enduring nature of our democratic institutions, and the ongoing relationships which exist between those institutions,” he said.
The Governor acknowledged the vital role of Presiding Officers and Clerks in maintaining the integrity of parliamentary democracy, noting that democracy ongoing maintenance and care.
“To our Presiding Officers: thank you for your patience. For your fairness – and your firmness. To our Clerks: thank you for being the collective memory of our democracies.
“Together, thank you all for your service to public administration and to the peoples of our region.”
The Governor also highlighted Western Australia’s proud parliamentary history, including becoming one of the earliest legislatures in the world to grant women the right to vote and the election of Edith Cowan as the first woman to an Australian parliament in 1921.
Quoting from her inaugural speech, he noted her belief that “we should [not] drag party into things that concern the whole of the State,” observing that the sentiment remains as relevant today as ever.
