Commonwealth Parliamentary Association - Northern Ireland Assembly Branch: Annual General Meeting

Minutes of Proceedings - Tuesday 5 March 2024 at 5:00pm

Present:

Mr Edwin Poots MLA, President

Dr Steve Aiken MLA

Ms Kellie Armstrong MLA

Mr John Blair MLA

Mr Maurice Bradley MLA

Mr Phillip Brett MLA

Mr David Brooks MLA

Mr Patrick Brown MLA

Ms Cheryl Brownlee

Mr Keith Buchanan MLA

Mr Jonathan Buckley MLA

Ms Joanne Bunting MLA

Ms Pam Cameron MLA

Mr Trevor Clarke MLA

Mr Stewart Dickson MLA

Ms Diane Dodds MLA

Mr Stephen Dunne MLA

Ms Sorcha Eastwood MLA

Ms Connie Egan MLA

Ms Deborah Erskine MLA

Ms Diane Forsythe MLA

Mr Paul Frew MLA

Mr Paul Givan MLA

Mr Harry Harvey MLA

Mr David Honeyford MLA

Ms Emma Little-Pengelly MLA

Mr Gordon Lyons MLA

Mr Gary Middleton MLA

Mr Andrew Muir MLA

Mr Colin McGrath MLA

Mr Mike Nesbitt MLA

Mr Alan Robinson MLA

Apologies:

Mr Brian Kingston MLA

Ms Michelle McIlveen MLA

In attendance:

Ms Stephanie Mallon, Clerk Assistant (Secretary)

Ms Nicola Crawford, Parliamentary Engagement Co-Ordinator (Minutes)

Mr Gareth McGrath, Director of Parliamentary Services

Ms Clare Maguire, Public Engagement Manager

Mr Paul Stitt, PS to the Speaker

Ms Caroline Moore, Participation and Outreach Manager

Ms Kate McCullough, Engagement Office

Mr Jason Christie, Engagement Office

1. APOLOGIES

The President welcomed Members of the CPA NIA Branch to the meeting and advised them of the apologies received.

The President advised Members that this was his first meeting in post and that he was looking forward to working with Members and getting the Branch functioning again.

2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The President asked Members to take note of the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting, held on 18 June 2020.

3. ELECTION OF BRANCH CHAIR AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

BRANCH CHAIR

The following nominations were received for the position of Branch Chair:

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The following nominations for the Executive Committee were received:

As there were more nominations than positions, the Members were asked to vote for both the Branch Chair and Executive Committee Members.

Please note that the President permitted Members who arrived while the voting process was live, having been delayed by plenary business, to vote. All votes took place at the same time.

The vote took place and the results were as follows:

• Branch Chair:

• • Mr Jonathan Buckley MLA

• Executive Committee Members:

• • Dr Steve Aiken MLA
  • Mr Keith Buchanan MLA
  • Mr Trevor Clarke MLA
  • Mr Stewart Dickson MLA
  • Mr Paul Frew MLA
  • Ms Michelle McIlveen MLA

The President congratulated all Members on their election.

BRANCH SECRETARY

The President nominated Ms Stephanie Mallon to be Secretary of the Branch.

Members approved the nomination.

4. MATTERS ARISING

1. Forthcoming Conferences:
   

   The President advised Members about the following conferences:
   
   Annual Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Conference, Malta, 6-9 March 2024
   
   The President advised Members that Michelle McIlveen MLA would represent the Assembly at the Conference.
   
   Information on the conference can be found at Annex A.
   
   
   Annual British Isles and Mediterranean Region (BIMR) Conference, St. Helena, 20-24 May 2024
   
   The President advised Members that the BIMR Conference will be held in St. Helena in May and that four Members can attend.
   
   The President asked Members if they are content to send delegates to the conference and asked for a proposer and seconder.
   
   Proposed - Steve Aiken MLA.
   Seconded - Jonathan Buckley MLA.
   
   Information on the conference can be found at Annex A.
   
   Annual CPA Conference, Sydney, Australia, 4-8 November 2024
   
   The President advised Members that the next Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference will be held in Sydney, Australia in November and that one Member can attend.
   
   The President asked Members if they are content to send a delegate to the conference and asked for a proposer and seconder.
   
   Proposed - Stewart Dickson MLA.
   Seconded - Steve Aiken MLA.
   
   Information on the conference can be found at Annex A.
   
   
2. Hosting the CWP Conference
   
   The President informed Members that the Branch is due to host the CWP (Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians) Conference and that the Branch had planned to host the conference in March 2017 but the suspension of normal business in the Assembly halted those plans. This will be the first time the Assembly has hosted the conference and follows on from the success of the BIMR Conference held in Belfast in 2021.
   
   The President asked Members if they were content to host the CWP Conference within the next two years and asked for as proposer and seconder.
   
   Proposed - Mike Nesbitt MLA.
   Seconded - Stephen Dunne MLA.

5. COMMONWEALTH DAY 2024

The President advised that an event to mark Commonwealth Day 2024 would take place on Tuesday 12 March. Local Consul Generals and Honorary Consuls for Commonwealth countries have been invited to participate in a roundtable discussion with him and CPA members.

6. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

No other business.

7. NEXT MEETING

The next Annual General Meeting will take place in June 2024, date and room to be confirmed.

The President handed over to Jonathan Buckley MLA as the new Chair of the Branch.

Mr Buckley thanked the Members for electing him to the post of Branch Chair. He paid tribute to the work of the previous Committee and in particular the Chair, William Humphrey, and stated his intention to build on his work. He suggested that a letter of thanks be sent to Mr Humphrey and the previous members of the Executive Committee, Mervyn Storey and Robin Newton, to thank them for their service and work with the CPA.

Mr Buckley finished by advising Members that he was looking forward to working with everyone in his new role.

The President then thanked Members for attending.

The President adjourned the meeting.

Edwin Poots MLA

President

Annex A

Annual Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Conference, Malta, 6-9 March 2024

CPA Malta will host the 10th Commonwealth Women ParliamentariansConference from the 6 - 9 March.

The theme of the conference is 'Resilient Women: Moulding Girls into Strong Women' and the programme will focus on tackling gender inequality; empowering women and girls; increasing women's representation in elected bodies; advocating for gender sensitive parliaments; and marking International Women's Day.

Annual British Isles and Mediterranean Region (BIMR) Conference, St. Helena, 20-24 May 2024

CPA St. Helena will host the annual British Isles and Mediterranean Regionfor the first time on the 20-24 May 2024.

Based on current flight timetables (once weekly, via Johannesburg) 18 May will be arrival day and 25 May will be departure day.

The theme for the conference is 'Addressing Challenges to Sustainable Development in Times of Global Uncertainty'.

Annual CPA Conference, Sydney, Australia, 4-8 November 2024

The next Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference will be held in Sydney, Australia, 4-8 November.

We are awaiting further information on the theme for the conference.