House debates

Friday, 23 September 2022

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

Address

12:04 pm

Photo of Shayne NeumannShayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II marks the end of an era—her era. I acknowledge this is a sad period for many Australians. She has been a fixture in their lives. Over her 70-year reign, she remained an enduring symbol of stability.

Queensland mathematician, entrepreneur and part-time historian Nigel Greenwood wrote a book, For the Sovereignty of the People, in which he discussed the Crown and its reserve powers. He spent a lot of time researching the monarch's responsibility in constitutional government. Recently, he said: 'One of the striking things about the accounts of prime ministers of Commonwealth nations across the many decades of the Queen's reign was the consistency of their accounts of her valuable counsel and the depth of her work in understanding the political difficulties of the day.' When British Prime Minister Harold Wilson had his first meeting with her, he was embarrassed to discover that she understood the current political issues confronting him better than he did because she had always diligently worked through her briefs, in his government and in prior governments across her reign. He vowed never to go unprepared to another meeting with her. Dr Greenwood noted that the Queen championed the Commonwealth's interests across the decades, when British prime ministers seemed obsessed with Europe. While for many she embodied the dignity and grace we might expect of a British monarch, history tells us these traits are not necessarily inherited with or imbued within the Crown.

I know that Queen Elizabeth II was admired and respected in Queensland. She was the only reigning British monarch to visit my home state. Nine months after Queen Elizabeth II was crowned on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London, she arrived in Brisbane on 9 March 1954. She stayed at Government House in Brisbane with Queensland Governor Sir John Lavarack and Lady Sybil Lavarack. Her busy itinerary included many regional visits to Bundaberg, Oakey, Toowoomba, Townsville, Cairns, Mackay, Rockhampton and the Great Barrier Reef. This was the first of 16 visits to Australia and eight to Queensland as the Queen.

Queen Elizabeth II remained a welcome and popular visitor to Queensland shores throughout her life, celebrating our culture and traditions. She provided reassurance in the aftermath of natural disasters and at times of concern for Queenslanders, sending messages of strength and support. On her final visit to Queensland in October 2011, Her Majesty paid tribute to the resilience and courage of Queenslanders in the aftermath of floods and cyclones. Her subsequent public walk along Brisbane's South Bank was greeted by thousands of Queenslanders, emphasising the great affection with which she was held in Queensland.

When she was a young princess, we first saw a glimpse of the style of monarch she would become. In World War II she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service, where she learned to drive and maintain vehicles. She was, as many have said, the first female member of the British royal family to join the armed services as a full-time active member. Seeing the young Princess Elizabeth in overalls, with her head underneath a car bonnet, inspired many.

The Queen served, with impartiality and dedication, Britain and her realms, of which Australia is one. Across her long reign, the same cannot be said of every single governor-general who served in her name.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was devoted to her duty. She will be remembered fondly as the longest reigning monarch of the Commonwealth, having succeeded to the throne on 6 February 1952 on the death of her father, King George VI. The Queen was an intelligent and engaged monarch who took her duties very seriously. Hers was a life dedicated to service.

I do hope, expect and pray that one day we'll have different constitutional arrangements in this country as we evolve in the 21st century. This will be the subject of ongoing debate in our national and political discourse until its resolution.

I acknowledge and understand this is a difficult time for many of our First Nations people. We're still dealing with the generational legacy of British colonisation. The cultural juxtaposition has been on full display at our football finals, with welcome to country ceremonies followed by a minute's silence for Her Majesty's death.

Whatever your views about the British monarchy—and they vary across the country; I'm a lifelong republican—the Queen has been regarded very widely as a friend of this country, and it is right to respectfully recognise her many years of faithful service over seven decades.

Our deepest condolences from my electorate, the people of Blair, to the royal family and her many friends. May she rest in peace.

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