Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Hansard source

On the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, I extend my sympathies to the people of the United Kingdom on behalf of the residents of my electorate of Franklin.

As we've heard, she was the first reigning monarch to visit our nation. Her Majesty visited my home state of Tasmania on seven occasions over the years. Her first visit to Tasmania was on her first visit to the nation, in 1954. That visit included Hobart, Wynyard, Burnie, Devonport, Latrobe and Cressy. She certainly got around my island home. During this visit, she met with many thousands of Tasmanians who came out to see her. She opened a session of our state parliament. She met with some troops, greeted schoolchildren, planted a tree, and, of course, had many official lunches, dinners, receptions and afternoon teas.

Her second visit in 1963 was a much shorter affair, with official events in Hobart, a civic reception, a quick visit up to Mount Wellington, overlooking Hobart, and attending the Hobart Regatta. In early 1970, after the devastating 1967 bushfires in Tasmania, after passing on her sympathies at the time of the event, Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh took the time to visit Huon Valley, in my electorate, which was impacted. She went to see the apple industry there—the grading, the packing and the shipping of the apples that Tasmania was once famous for; we were known then as the Apple Isle. The visit also included more official events, as always happens. She visited on more occasions, in 1977 and 1981, and in 1988 for the bicentenary. Her last visit to Tasmania was in the year 2000. Her Majesty was always sure of a warm welcome from the Tasmanian people, and she was always accompanied—on every visit—by the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip.

With Tasmanians mourning her death and reminiscing about her visits to Tasmania, I've heard many stories about interactions where she was thoughtful, kind and inquisitive about our island home. Some people in the electorate and elsewhere in Tasmania even sent me copies of their personal memorabilia from their times and visits with the Queen. I've been sent a lovely photo of the Queen meeting school students in 1981. But I've also got a lovely story from a veteran broadcaster who, during Her Majesty's 1970 visit, was a 22-year-old cadet who had a little incident. The story from Ric Patterson goes:

It was my first of many big royal broadcasts, and I was positioned on top of the lavatory roof at Beauty Point Wharf. The Queen had arrived on the Royal Yacht, 'Britannia', accompanied by Prince Phillip, Prince Charles and Princess Anne.

My involvement in the final part of the broadcast that day, was to describe the departure of the Royal Family. Trying to be smart, I didn't write anything out on paper, to avoid rustling on the mics. Instead, I wrote the procedures out onto a series of little filing cards.

We got the OK to go to air, with the Royal Party arriving back at Beauty Point. As the Queen exited the car, a gust of wind blew up to where I was positioned above her, and blew all of my filing cards out of my hands, and they fell like confetti all over the Queen! I was mortified, but being a true pro, the Queen didn't bat an eyelid, continuing to perform her duties with all the composure and grace you would expect from her.'

This story is emblematic of Her Majesty. She always got on with the job, regardless of the circumstances, and was professional, but she also kept her sense of humour.

Over my many years as an MP, like many in this place I had people proudly contact me to get their letter from the Queen on their 100th birthday. Just in the last three years, we've had well over a hundred constituents get that letter that so many people wait for. I know that many Tasmanians have acknowledged her death in many different ways, depending on the circumstances, with some of them reflecting on how our nation has come to where we are today.

Her service to her nation and to the Commonwealth is unparalleled. A 70-year reign is unlikely to be repeated. She has the privilege of being the longest reigning monarch in British history, and of course she truly gave her all right to the very end. As Britons and others across the globe mourn her death, they rejoice in her reign and they acknowledge her leadership. Queen was not a role that she was born into initially, but of course one she took on with a sense of duty to uphold the institution that became her life's work. Stepping into this role at such an early age would have been daunting, but she just got on with it. In the seven decades of her reign, there have been many changes, but she remained steadfast as Queen of the United Kingdom and Head of the Commonwealth. On behalf of the residents of Franklin, I pass our sincere condolences on to her family and friends, and we say: thank you for your loyal service, Your Majesty.

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