Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Queen Elizabeth II saw her homeland, the Commonwealth and the world rebuild after World War II. During that war, she first spoke to the world. Broadcasting to the children of the Commonwealth, then princess Elizabeth said on 13 October 1940:

… when peace comes, remember it will be for us, the children of today, to make the world of tomorrow a better and happier place—

her own fear repressed, seeking instead to bring hope to children displaced by the horrors of war. Some 70 years later she saw her grandson Prince Harry leave to serve in Afghanistan. She never saw the world completely at peace, but she always used her role to advocate for peace.

There is no foreign leader who loved Australia more than Queen Elizabeth. She was the first reigning monarch to visit Australia. There were 16 visits. She opened parliament twice; state parliaments, five times. She officially opened Parliament House, this building, in 1988. During her first royal tour, in 1954, she travelled some 16,000 kilometres by air—33 separate flights—and made 207 separate trips in the car, visiting more than 70 country towns. That included Northam, Kalgoorlie and Perth in Western Australia. When she was in Perth, she opened the modernist icon Council House, in the heart of the Perth electorate. During her visits over the years, she saw more of Western Australia than many who live in this country have seen; indeed, she saw more of Western Australia than many who serve in this parliament. She did love the west.

On that first visit in 1954, the White Australia policy still prevailed. With time, Australia and our monarch changed. In 1967 we recognised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders through a referendum; in 1992 the landmark Mabo decision recognised rights to traditional land; and, at the turn of the century, a group of Aboriginal leaders travelled to Buckingham Palace to discuss 'the unfinished business of reconciliation'. After that meeting, now Western Australian senator Patrick Dodson said the meeting with the Queen had been 'extraordinarily beneficial'. Now King Charles III, too, will see great advancements during his reign, both in our work here and in work across the Commonwealth.

I came to this world halfway through her reign. I was fortunate in 2005 to meet her son Prince Charles, when I was still a university student. I congratulate the King on his accession to the throne. In 2011, I watched as the Queen spoke at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, proudly hosted in the Perth electorate and including the Great Aussie BBQ—120,000 sausages, 100 barbecue hotplates—with the naming of Elizabeth Quay in her honour a lasting reminder, in the heart of the Perth electorate, of the important role she played for our city and our state and our country.

In 2015 my wife, Jess, and I stayed with a friend in London. Our friend didn't live in a poky flat. She had the honour of working for then prince Charles, and she lived at Buckingham Palace, in the Royal Mews. So, above the royal stable with 30 of England's finest horses, the gold state coach, and many of the staff of Buckingham Palace, Jess and I enjoyed a week in the Queen's home town from her unique perspective on that fabulous city.

In the ceremonial role of queen, she was not a legislator or decision-maker. However, she demonstrated the true meaning of leadership—that your role is to inspire others. She reflected upon this when she spoke at the Perth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2011. Quoting an Aboriginal saying, she said:

We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love … and then we return home.

She learned, she grew, she loved; now she returns home.

On behalf of the people of the Perth electorate, condolences to the royal family and to all of those who loved and admired Queen Elizabeth II.

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