House debates

Friday, 23 September 2022

Death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth Ii and Accession of His Majesty King Charles Iii

Address

10:33 am

Photo of Scott MorrisonScott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

This has been a time of mourning across our country, with waves of sorrow and grief from coast to coast. But it has also been a time of rich and fond remembrance. It has been a time of thanksgiving and gratitude for a remarkable life of service in Her Majesty. I acknowledge the many fine contributions of those in this House that have preceded mine and will follow mine. With duty, dignity, dedication, service, strength, courage, compassion, grace, humility and love, Her Majesty was one who served, when so many others might have sought to be served in such a role. She was a rock. She was a constant for the Commonwealth as Queen of Australia. But I think, more than that, she was a rock and a constant in so many people's lives. She was something that didn't change in a world that changed every minute of every day. From that, people found the strength and the fortitude to carry on in the worst of times and to celebrate in the best.

What, do we ask, enables someone, in Her Majesty, to live such a life? What sustained her in this service and sacrifice? This is what I want to reflect on today. Many have told stories, and I welcome those; I could tell them also. But what I want to focus on is what I believe sustained Her Majesty in all of this. She answered the question herself in her many Christmas messages, which I've taken the time to go back over and read. By her own confession, it was her deep and abiding faith in Jesus Christ that she so often referenced in those messages. Most recently, in 2014 she said:

For me, the life of Jesus Christ … is an inspiration and an anchor in my own life.

In 2002—and the Leader of the Opposition made reference to this—in what was one of her most difficult years, having lost her mother and her sister, she must have felt, apart from having Philip with her, so alone. She said this in her Christmas message:

I know just how much I rely on my own faith to guide me through the good times and the bad … and put my trust in God.

It says in 2 Samuel what I think is the best description of Her Majesty's reign:

… who rules righteously, who rules in the fear of God, is like the light of the morning as the sun rises. A morning without clouds, when the fresh grass springs out of the earth from sunshine after rain.

That was a testimony to Her Majesty's reign.

So, as a grateful nation, we do give thanks, and so many from all of our constituencies right across the country have done that, as have mine in the electorate of Cook in the Sutherland shire and St George area. Margaret Crowley says, 'Thank you. Thank you for being an irreplaceable constant in our lives.' Janice Dent from Gymea says, 'The world is a better place because of her reign.' Jillian Won from Carss Park says, 'The world has lost a wonderful woman, and I feel I've lost a family member. Rest in peace, Ma'am. You have earned it.' Margaret Tattersall of Sylvania said this: 'Forever loved but never forgotten.' Angela Holmes, a registered nurse—she signs herself off as from Burraneer—says: 'Thank you, Ma'am, from the bottom of our hearts.'

But it is this one that I really appreciate, and it's from Susan Hitchen in Dolans Bay, not far from where I live. It says: 'To my Majesty Queen Elizabeth II: it has been an honour and a privilege to have you as my Queen. You have been an outstanding role model of displaying strength and wisdom through grace and humility. Well done, thou good and faithful servant. You endured in this strength until the end. You are now in the joy of the Lord at your forever home. Bless you.'

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