Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to give my condolences on the death of Queen Elizabeth II. May she rest in peace. I pay my respects to her family and all those who loved her and all those grieving.

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor became the Queen of England and of Australia in 1952. As a symbol, she was powerful. She was the head of her family, the head of her nation, the head of her church and the Head of the Commonwealth for over 70 years. Her face was a fixture of the 20th and 21st centuries. Her face was in our courts, in our parliaments, on our envelopes and on our currency—a feature of our visual landscape. As a human being, she loved horses, she drove a four-wheel drive and, by all reports, she had a wry sense of humour.

During her reign, we've seen the decline of what was the British Empire. In 1952, when Elizabeth came to power, five years after India was partitioned, the British were fighting against uprisings in Kenya and a coup in Egypt. During her reign, 35 countries which previously had the Queen as head of state became republics. However, the impact of that empire is still felt here and across the world amongst those who suffered the loss of their country, including First Nations people.

At the moving ceremony yesterday, the Governor-General made an important acknowledgement. He acknowledged that the response of many First Nations people is shaped by our colonial history and that we have unfinished business. He is right, and we must acknowledge it, as a parliament, too. Also, because the Queen's passing means that we get a new head of state without having any say in the matter, it is absolutely the appropriate time to talk respectfully about whether that is right for us as a country. We can offer our condolences to those grieving her personally while also talking respectfully about what it means for us as a people. Australia has not taken our opportunity to become a republic. Australia still does not have a treaty. Australia's former Prime Minister was once removed by the Queen's representative. And it was only in 1986, less than 40 years ago, that the power of the parliament of the United Kingdom to make laws for Australia was finally terminated. And now the Queen has passed, but, despite her longevity and readily apparent restraint, what she represented has not. Now we have a king. We did not elect this man, nor did we as a people truly consent to being governed by him. We have, respectfully, unfinished business.

The head of state of this country should be chosen by the people, for the people and from the people. We should respect the civility with which Elizabeth Windsor oversaw the drawing down of what was once the British Empire and take the cue to grow up and move out. We must recognise, as our Governor-General said, that people around this country are experiencing this moment in different ways. We must recognise the cultural, structural and institutional ways in which the Crown, which we remain a part of, has oppressed First Nations peoples here and around the world. We must first reach a treaty with our First Nations. Once we have struck a treaty then it will be time for a republic—one based on truth, justice and the inclusion of all.

When it comes to our history there is no glory in make-believe, because the pain of colonisation is real. The Queen's true gift was that she allowed and encouraged so many countries to grow up, move out and move on. As Stan Grant wrote:

We aren't supposed to talk about these things this week. We aren't supposed to talk about colonisation, empire, violence, about Aboriginal sovereignty, not even about the republic.

But now is the time to look back honestly and to move forward with courage, grace and humility. We can use this moment to genuinely empower people, to choose our leader, to own up to our past and to forge a future as a country, like so many countries who have embraced their independence. As my colleague Lidia Thorpe said:

That unity would be more powerful than any King.

For those close to her, who loved her: we recognise your loss and we pay our respects. But her reign has ended, and now we must, finally, take control of our destiny for the good of all who've lived here, who do live here and who will come to live here in the future.

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