Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

I'm most definitely sure, Member for Swan! My dad was one of the first people to work at the British Petroleum oil refinery in Kwinana. He was originally from England. Following two years he spent managing a plantation in Kerala, India, he came to WA. My dad used to fondly recall when he attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953. He was among the many thousands that flocked to and filled the streets of London to witness the coronation of the new queen nearly a year and a half after she was proclaimed their monarch. Her coronation was clearly an event not to be missed, and many shared in the celebration at the time. Perhaps because of the investment from BP, Kwinana and surrounding suburbs have long had a high concentration of migrants from Britain—or perhaps it is simply because Perth is 3½ hours shorter on an aeroplane trip! Before there were commercial flights, stopping at Fremantle would cut your long sea voyage quite significantly—by many days. For my father, the port of Fremantle was the first stop in Australia on his voyage from India, and when he got here he decided to stay awhile. Then, of course, he met my mum, who is an Australian, and Shoalwater became our home.

It's very common to hear a variety of accents from across the British Isles in our local community. Brand is also home to a large community of service personnel, not least because of the proximity of HMAS Stirling on Garden Island, just off the coast of Rockingham. Many personnel of the Royal Australian Navy were indeed formerly personnel of the Royal Navy, and they have come to Rockingham, seen the light and made this great part of the world their home.

It is difficult to underestimate the great depth of feeling serving members of the military have had toward the royal family, particularly during and in the aftermath of World War II. I keep repeating stories of my dad because he loves the Queen, and he loved the King before her. My dad served in the Royal Navy in the Second World War and would often tell the story of the day when Prince Philip's uncle, Lord Louis Mountbatten, visited the ship he was serving on. Dad's fondness for Mountbatten was always evident, and it was always a pleasure for us to hear him tell the story of when they had royalty on board the ship on which he served.

Importantly, during her reign, Queen Elizabeth II has worked hard to transform the former British Empire into a commonwealth of independent states. The Commonwealth is unique as a multinational organisation. It does not exist for any specific economic or security purpose. It is not a defence treaty organisation or a trading block. It is not a coalition of contiguous countries working together for the sake of convenience. Rather, the Commonwealth is an acknowledgement of our shared history—the good and the bad of it—and a shared undertaking to seek to improve the world around us. Perth, just north of my electorate of Brand, was host to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2011. At the time, I was an adviser to the then Special Minister of State, my predecessor in Brand and now our ambassador to Ireland, Gary Gray. It was a privilege to work with Gary, as well as with other ministers such as Stephen Smith and Chris Evans, and with other public servants and the enormous range of Comcar drivers we ran into to deliver CHOGM.

The Queen visited Perth for CHOGM that year only a few months before her Diamond Jubilee. The WA Premier held a barbecue on the Esplanade, a park on the Swan River just down from the Commonwealth parliamentary offices in the city. The park has been transformed in the years since to a new quay, named Elizabeth Quay after the Queen.

I personally support Australia becoming a republic and I believe an Australian should be able to be the head of state of this nation. But I nonetheless have the greatest respect for the lifelong service and commitment that Her Majesty the Queen and her family have given to their country, to our country and to the Commonwealth of Nations over many, many years. On behalf of the people of Brand, the people of the suburbs of Rockingham and Kwinana, who hold a deep affection for her, I sincerely congratulate Her Majesty on her Platinum Jubilee and I commend this motion to the chamber.

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