Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Crown References Amendment Bill is a solution to a problem that does not exist. Under section 16 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, existing references to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in Commonwealth acts are already construed as references to the present His Majesty King Charles III. The Crown References Amendment Bill 2023 makes several amendments to a variety of bills to replace outdated references to 'Her Majesty' and 'the Queen' with 'the King' and 'the sovereign'. The bill creates a new term for senior counsel to include 'King's Counsel' and 'Queen's Counsel'. The bill amends oaths and affirmations by removing references to 'Her Majesty' to insert the applicable pronoun, such as 'his' or 'her'. That is, a king would be referred to as 'His Majesty' and a queen would be referred to as 'Her Majesty'.

However, it is important for the coalition that we seek assurances that the government has consulted with the crown's representative in Australia, the Governor-General, before we can take a formal position. The coalition does, however, wonder why this is the priority of the government in a cost-of-living crisis. It is clear that this government does not have a plan for the economy while Australians are in a cost-of-living crisis. This government's priority is semantic changes to legislation rather than bringing in real legislation to help Australian families.

Debate adjourned.