Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth

This special episode of ‘Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth’ speaks to Hon. Khurram Ijaz Chattha, a Member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab, Pakistan.

In 2024 Hon. Chattha was selected as the winner of the Commonwealth Parliamentarian of the Year because of his "dedicated promotion of good governance, placing strong emphasis on the rule of law, transparency and accountability throughout his political career. His proactive approach in Assembly debates has contributed to the creation of laws that prioritize the public interest and his leadership in the development of public policies has also focused on improving governance systems that protect the rights of citizens and promote social equity."

He speaks about his family's legacy in politics, his commitment to social equity and what winning this award means to him.

Nominations for the 2025 Parliamentarian of the Year Awards are open now: https://www.cpahq.org/what-we-do/2025-parliamentarian-of-the-year-awards-nomination-form/

Khurram Ijaz Chattha was speaking with Oz Russell, Communications Officer at the CPA Secretariat.

Music: Vine Crawler by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)

Recorded in February 2025.

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In this episode of ‘Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth’, South African MP, Hon. Steve Letsike discusses the enduring impact of colonial laws on LGBT+ rights in South Africa and across the Commonwealth. Drawing from her roles as Deputy Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, and Founder of Access Chapter 2, Hon. Steve Letsike speaks to the paradox of legal progress and lived realities, the pre-colonial history of gender diversity in Africa and what meaningful change looks like from within and beyond Parliament.  

Hon. Steve Letsike was speaking with Miral Pankhania, Strategic Communications Coordinator at the CPA Secretariat.  

Music: Vine Crawler by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)  

Recorded in February 2025. 

Visit the CPA website: https://www.cpahq.org/ 

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This episode of ‘Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth’, the CPA’s Podcast, speaks to Nusrat Ghani, MP, UK Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.

Recorded at the 1st joint CPA Asia South-East Asia Regional Conference in Lahore, Pakistan February 2025, Nusrat Ghani speaks about her path into politics, how best to support MPs and get the right type of people interested in public service, what the stakes are in regulating Artificial Intelligence, and how the Speaker's Office in the UK interacts with the Commonwealth.

Nusrat Ghani was speaking with Oz Russell, Communications Officer at the CPA Secretariat.

Music: Vine Crawler by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)

Recorded in February 2025.

Visit the CPA website: https://www.cpahq.org/

Follow the CPA on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CPA_Secretariat
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/commonwealth-parliamentary-association
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This episode of ‘Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth’, the CPA’s Podcast, speaks to Hon. Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, Speaker of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab, Pakistan.

We speak about his path in politics towards becoming Speaker, how to encourage sustainable and inclusive growth across the Commonwealth, the historic occasion of the first CPA Asia South-East Asia joint Regional Conference and the governance of emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence.

Hon. Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan was speaking with Oz Russell, Communications Officer at the CPA Secretariat during the Asia South-East Asia joint Regional Conference.

Music: Vine Crawler by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)

Recorded in February 2025.

Visit the CPA website: https://www.cpahq.org/

Follow the CPA on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CPA_Secretariat
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This episode of ‘Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth’, the CPA’s Podcast, speaks to Senator Crystal Drakes, a Member of the Senate of Barbados.

Recorded at the 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) in New South Wales in November 2024, Senator Crystal Drakes speaks about the recent transition from a monarchy to a republic in Barbados and what it means for democracy and national identity; her background in economic and international development and how it led to her parliamentary career; and how international conferences like the CPC can provide a platform for smaller jurisdictions in the Caribbean and beyond.

Barbados will host the next 68th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in October 2025.

Senator Crystal Drakes was speaking with Marshall Tisdale, Programmes Officer at the CPA Secretariat.

Music: Vine Crawler by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)

Recorded in November 2024.

Visit the CPA website: https://www.cpahq.org/

Follow the CPA on social media:

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This episode of ‘Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth’, the CPA’s Podcast, speaks to Hon. Kate Doust, a Member of the Legislative Council from the Parliament of Western Australia.

We speak about her role as a Presiding Officer and Member of Parliament; how her trade union background has helped in her career; the barriers facing women in politics and how to overcome them; the role of ‘modern’ Commonwealth; and being the first recipient of the CPA Commonwealth Parliamentarian of the Year Award.

Hon. Kate Doust was speaking with Jeffrey Hyland, Editor of The Parliamentarian, the CPA’s Journal of Commonwealth Parliaments.

Music: Vine Crawler by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue) 

Recorded in August 2024.

Visit the CPA website: https://www.cpahq.org/

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In The Juggle: How Politicians Prioritise, a special World Parliament Day mini-series of Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth, we peel back the layers of what Parliaments do and consider a simple concept that lies at the heart of parliamentary democracy – representation.

As an elected representative, the job of a politician is to collect the views of the people they represent, and use them to dictate their actions and decisions in Parliament. It sounds simple in theory, but the reality is that the views of the wider public are not often defined, ordered or presented to politicians in a simple way.

Their challenge is to constantly juggle the competing interests of different groups of people, all of whom want to talk to them, talk at them or even shout at them, and have a right to do so in a representative democracy. Successfully fulfilling a responsibility to represent others requires a constant balancing act. 

So, in this mini-series, we ravel around the Commonwealth to ask Members of Parliament about their processes for listening to and filtering the daily demands on their attention, choosing what’s important or urgent, deciding how their time is best spent and what that means for how they operate on a day-to-day basis.

In this episode, we speak to Shri Anurag Sharma, Member of the Lok Sabha for Jhansi constituency in Uttar Pradesh, about how he manages his focus, time and energy whilst serving more than 2.8 million constituents, and the changing methods that his constituents use to communicate with him.

Music: Vine Crawler by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)

Visit the CPA website: https://www.cpahq.org/

Follow the CPA on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CPA_Secretariat
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CPAHQ
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/commonwealth-parliamentary-association
Instagram: www.instagram.com/cpa_secretariat

In The Juggle: How Politicians Prioritise, a special World Parliament Day mini-series of Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth, we peel back the layers of what Parliaments do and consider a simple concept that lies at the heart of parliamentary democracy – representation.

As an elected representative, the job of a politician is to collect the views of the people they represent, and use them to dictate their actions and decisions in Parliament. It sounds simple in theory, but the reality is that the views of the wider public are not often defined, ordered or presented to politicians in a simple way.

Their challenge is to constantly juggle the competing interests of different groups of people, all of whom want to talk to them, talk at them or even shout at them, and have a right to do so in a representative democracy. Successfully fulfilling a responsibility to represent others requires a constant balancing act.

So, in this mini-series, we ravel around the Commonwealth to ask Members of Parliament about their processes for listening to and filtering the daily demands on their attention, choosing what’s important or urgent, deciding how their time is best spent and what that means for how they operate on a day-to-day basis.

In this episode, we speak to Rt. Hon. Nelly Mutti, Speaker of the National Assembly of Zambia, about how the role of Speaker brings different pressures and priorities compared to other politicians, the need to think about fairness and gender equality when presiding over parliamentary business, and the key improvements she hopes to make to the Zambian National Assembly in her time in office.

Music: Vine Crawler by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)

Visit the CPA website: https://www.cpahq.org/

Follow the CPA on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CPA_Secretariat
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CPAHQ
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/commonwealth-parliamentary-association
Instagram: www.instagram.com/cpa_secretariat

On a special episode of Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth, the former Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, sits down with CPA Secretary-General and former UK MP, Stephen Twigg, for a wide-ranging conversation. 

Gillard, who served as Prime Minister from 2010 to 2013:

• praises affirmative action as a proven solution to increase the representation of women in Parliament (07:16)
• warns that 'we could be back to ground zero' unless world leaders urgently address vaccine inequality (19:10)
• highlights that COVID-19 had left 'unanswered questions' about children's mental health (22:55)
• calls the situation in Afghanistan 'absolutely heart-breaking to watch' (31:12)
• admits that the Commonwealth must 'stare' its colonial history 'in the face' in order to move forward (32:40)

Music: Vine Crawler by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)

Visit the CPA website: https://www.cpahq.org/

Follow the CPA on social media:

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On this episode of Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth, we ask: how can Commonwealth democracies be more representative of indigenous peoples?

To discuss this question we are joined by:

• Hon. Lenox R Shuman MP,  Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Guyana and Member of the Arawak Nation;
• Sheila North, former Grand Chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak and campaigner for indigenous women in Canada;
• Josiah Tualamali'i, youth indigenous activist in New Zealand and former participant in the Commonwealth Youth Parliament.

Music: Vine Crawler by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)

Visit the CPA website: https://www.cpahq.org/

Follow the CPA on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CPA_Secretariat
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/commonwealth-parliamentary-association
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Contact us: https://www.cpahq.org/contact-us/