et me start my last view for 2008 by expressing our heartfelt and profound con- dolences to the Parliament, people
and government of India for the great loss of life and property and for those injured during the senseless and coward- ly terrorist attack in Mumbai in December. I wish to join all those who have condemned these acts, whose per- petrators are against a peaceful and pro- gressive world, and who should be hunt- ed by every peace-loving person and eradicated. May those who lost their lives rest in eternal peace.On your behalf, I have separately conveyed our condolences to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Hon. Somnath Chatterjee,MP. In the corridors of United Kingdom parliamentary democracy, the “Damian Green row” has dominated the year-end parliamen- tary scene, as well as the corridors of the media in
Dr William F. Shija
the “mother of Parliaments”. Strength is being weighed between the arms of govern- ment in what has been termed as the infringement of the freedom of Parliament, when the office of the Conservative immigration spokesman, Mr Damian Green,MP,was raided by the officers investigating what they called leaks from the Home Office.The incident has raised the eyebrows on government-parliamentary relationships once again, invoking questions about the independence of Parliament. In developing Legislatures of the
Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
Commonwealth, parliamentary reform, parliamentary strengthening and the necessity to establish a strong parliamen- tary administration continue to be dis- cussed.Among the CPA Branches I
have so far visited and worked with, the hue and cry is that Parliament is not quite free to exercise its
The Secretary-General’s
Below:Mr Andrew Imlach and Ms Meenakshi Dhar of the CPA Secretariat, with Professor Peter Loney (far right), former Victorian Deputy Speaker and the Executive Director of the Public Sector Gover- nance and Accountability Research Centre at La Trobe University.
Above:The former Secretary-General Mr Arthur Donohue (to the right of Dr Shija) paid a visit to the CPA Secretariat in October.