REPORT TO QUEENSLAND PARLIAMENT ON OVERSEAS TRAVEL TO ATTEND 53RD COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION CANADIAN REGIONAL CONFERENCE by the Honourable Stirling Hinchliffe MP Member for Sandgate Leader of the House Assistant Minister of State Assisting the Premier and Jarrod Bleijie MP Member for Kawana Shadow Minister for Police, Fire, Emergency Services and Corrective Services July 2015 QUEENSLAND BRANCH Submitted: 14 September 2015 The purpose of our travel was to participate in the 53rd Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Canadian Regional Conference designed to provide opportunities to meet with parliamentarians from across Canada and other countries within the Commonwealth to exchange views and experiences on parliamentary practices and operational innovations. The CPA Conference was scheduled from Monday 20 July 2015 to Friday 24 July 2015 with official departures on Saturday 25 July 2015. The CPA Regional Conference is held annually with all Commonwealth nations invited to send representatives. The Queensland Branch was represented at this Conference by one Government and one non‐Government member. The New South Wales, South Australian, Victorian and Western Australian Branches were also represented. This year’s Conference theme was “Safe Passage – Secure and Accessible Parliaments”. Security of Parliamentary Precincts Presentations to the Conference were diverse, but as suggested by the theme, a number focused on the security of parliamentary precincts and balancing these issues with public accessibility. Our host jurisdiction, the British Columbia had recent experience in dealing with issues of security around Parliamentary precincts as their legislature was the subject of a foiled terrorist bomb plot in 2013. At that time pressure‐cooker bombs were placed in planters outside the Legislature. The plan was to cause as much damage and kill as many people as possible. Thankfully no one was injured. It was invaluable to hear how the Legislature responded to security following this incident. However we note that despite this incident, visitors are still able to freely move in and out of the public areas of Parliament House without the need to be security checked or metal scanned. Security screening is setup at the entrance of the public galleries to the Assembly.A powerful session permitted the delegates and observers to hear more recent first‐hand accounts of the terrible events of 22 October 2014 at Parliament Hill in Ottawa. On that day, a gunman shot and killed a soldier on sentry duty at the Canadian National War Memorial then entered the National Parliament building where he was ultimately killed in a shootout with the House of Commons Sergeant‐At‐Arms and Royal Mounted Police Corps Officers. The lock‐down of the parliamentary precinct continued for some hours while authorities ascertained and ensured the security of members and the public. Three members of the Canadian Federal Parliament made personal reflections on their experiences. At the time of the incident, Joyce Murray MP (Vancouver Quadra, Liberal Party of Canada), Malcolm Allen MP (Welland, NDP) and Chris Charlton MP (Hamilton Mountain, NDP) were all either in or en route to their party caucus meetings. It was interesting to note that all three remarked on the importance of communications to assist everyone in such a circumstance. It struck us particularly that even after his experience, Malcom Allen expressed his personal view that public access must continue to “trump” security. It was noted that many of the MP’s and Senators that were at Parliament House during the incident were relying on social media for updates on the situation particularly when the Parliament building was in lock‐down. The Speaker of the Quebec National Assembly, the Honourable Jacques Chagnon, presented to the Conference on the significant enhancements that have been undertaken and are planned for the Parliament Buildings in Montreal. With the Quebec National Assembly largely comprising of a building built in the late 19th century, some physical security measures are being progressively undertaken since a review prompted by the incident at Ottawa’s Parliament Hill. A secure command post has been created with enhanced video surveillance, more gates and electronic locks with greater attention on access card settings to manage access to specific areas. Most significantly a new “Welcome Building” is being developed in the form of an underground reception space outside the building with an improved range of other services for visitors to the precinct. The heritage issues involved has meant that this project will cost CAN$134 million. Excavation for the new building will start shortly and completion of the building is expected in the 2019 northern summer. There was consensus that Parliaments not only in Canadian provinces but around the Commonwealth should at all times attempt to have relatively similar security arrangements. One jurisdiction noted however, that in Canada’s case if one province has superior security this may lead to other provinces with lower security being the target of specific attacks. Accessibility of Parliaments The Speaker of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, the Honourable Kevin S Murphy MHA, presented on the accessibility of Canadian Parliaments to people living with a disability. Speaker Murphy is the first Speaker to serve with a permanent disability and is a spinal cord injured quadriplegic as a result of an ice hockey accident when he was 14 years old. He noted there is generally at least one MLA in each province living with a disability and that a high level of accessibility has been achieved in what are largely historic buildings. Usually, the exception to this has been the Speaker’s Dais within parliamentary chambers. In order to achieve inclusiveness Speaker Murphy explained how they ran a program titled “A day in a wheelchair’. This action encouraged members without disabilities to spend a day to ascertain how accessible is Parliament, offices, eateries and other areas to not only members in wheelchairs but also the visiting public. It was more than just changing the physical environment, it was about respecting all members no matter what their disabilities. For example they changed their standing order “rise to speak” to one that didn’t imply one must stand to speak. Speaker Murphy also noted the importance of ensuring constituency offices are accessible to ensure access by the whole community to their representatives. Twinning Arrangements between CPA Branches The Speaker of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly, the Honourable Dan D’Autremont MLA, and the President of the Western Australian Legislative Council, the Honourable Barry House MLC, presented on the ‘twinning’ arrangement that has developed between the parliaments of the Province of Saskatchewan and the State of Western Australia. The presentation outlined the detailed arrangements which govern the exchange delegations where strong member‐to‐member and staff‐to‐staff matching is undertaken and the experiences extend to opportunities to extensively ‘shadow’ counterparts not only in their parliamentary role but also in their constituency. Outside of this presentation, it was a clear discussion point around the Conference that more regular opportunities for parliamentarians from the Australian State and the Canadian Provinces to interact, discuss and experience the issues they are administering would be profoundly better professional development. The synergies in the political, legal, social and economic structures ensure the ability to effectively learn from each other and transfer experiences much stronger. Similar recurring issues such as resource development, remote communities, infrastructure short‐falls, urban growth, environmental management and indigenous communities underline the commonality which can inform better policy making on both side of the Pacific. While there are broader issues facing the future of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association – with the Australian Parliament’s withdrawal and the continuing trends led by an African voting bloc – it is our recommendation that the Queensland Branch take steps to support exploring ‘twinning’ arrangements for Australian State Branches with the Canadian Provincial Branches. Attachment 1: Travel Itinerary Attachment 2: CPA Conference Program Attachment 1: Travel itinerary ‐ Stirling Hinchliffe MP At the conclusion of the CPA Conference I travelled via San Francisco on my return and had an additional 4 days there on personal leave and expense and departed San Francisco to return to Brisbane on Wednesday 29 July 2015. Travel / Accommodation details: Flight Airline: Virgin Australia Flight: VA0924 Departure: Sunday 19 July 2015 at 08:00 Brisbane, Australia Arrival: Sunday 19 July 2015 at 09:35 Sydney, Australia Flight Airline: United Airlines Flight: UA0870 Departure: Sunday 19 July 2015 at 12:00 Sydney, Australia Arrival: Sunday 19 July 2015 at 08:35 San Francisco, USA Flight Airline: United Airlines Flight: UA5509 Departure: Sunday 19 July 2015 at 11:08 San Francisco, USA Arrival: Sunday 19 July 2015 at 13:18 Victoria BC, Canada Hotel Hotel Grand Pacific, 463 Belleville Street, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Check in: Sunday 19 July 2015 Check out: Saturday 25 July 2015 Flight Airline: United Airlines Flight: UA6315 Departure: Saturday 25 July 2015 at 06:00 Victoria BC, Canada Arrival: Saturday 25 July 2015 at 08:14 San Francisco, USA Hotel San Francisco – personal expense Check in: Saturday 25 July 2015 Check out: