Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to pay tribute to the extraordinary life and service of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. On 9 September the Australian people woke to the news that the Queen's historic reign and her long life devoted to duty, family, faith and service had come to an end. From the moment the young princess became Queen in 1952, Her Majesty's dedication to duty and service over self was the hallmark of her reign, and she performed her responsibilities with fidelity, integrity and respect for everyone she met. We saw those qualities each time she visited our shores, which she did on 16 separate occasions, travelling to every state and territory across our vast continent. She visited my electorate of Newcastle on four occasions: in 1954, 1970 and 1977—when she came to open our Newcastle Art Gallery, which I got to witness firsthand—and then again in 1988.

Queen Elizabeth reigned for 70 years, making her the longest-reigning woman in history. There have been many monarchs in Great Britain, but it is worth noting that three of the longest reigning, and arguably most impactful, were women. Queen Elizabeth I reigned from 1558 to 1603, and Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901. But Queen Elizabeth II, of those three queens, was the most fully evolved monarch. She inherited a monarchy whose political power had been steadily eroding since the 18th century but whose role in public life was, paradoxically, to increase in its importance. She handled her often difficult and delicate constitutional role with grace and, it must be said, remarkable political skill. Perhaps nowhere was that more evident than in the way in which the Queen engaged with Australia, our contested histories of colonisation, the unfinished business of a just and proper relationship with our First Nations people and the unsettled questions about our constitutional arrangements.

Over the course of seven decades, Her Majesty observed closely the evolution of former colonies, the emergence of independent nation-states and the formation of new alliances and new political power. Yet she remained welcome and a constant presence throughout the Commonwealth. She embodied and exhibited a timeless decency and an enduring calm.

When the princess became Queen, women's roles were overwhelmingly domestic. Indeed, women were discouraged from working outside the home. This was especially true of married women with children. The Second World War, however, demanded a radical rethink of those social norms, and millions of women took on wartime jobs, working in the factories producing munitions, building ships, serving as air raid wardens and fire officers, volunteering with the Red Cross, keeping the economy going while the men went to war. A young Princess Elizabeth was one of these women when she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service as a military driver and mechanic. I expect that experience of working within a traditionally male-dominated workplace held Her Majesty and millions of other women in good stead for what was yet to come. Despite those women surrendering their jobs, voluntarily or not, to the men who returned from war, the world of work and the work of women were destined to change for ever. It's just taken a lot longer than we might have expected.

With the death of her father, King George VI, the young princess instantly became Queen and head of state for more than 50 million people across 32 nations, many of which were emerging still from the massive destruction and political upheavals of the Second World War. For 70 years she embodied leadership. She showed generations of women and men that women can be leaders; indeed, women are more than capable of leadership.

Queen Elizabeth is the only reigning monarch most Australians have ever known and the only one to visit Australia. Throughout her reign, Queen Elizabeth showed a deep affection for our nation, and she was held in high regard by most Australians too. Notwithstanding her lifelong dedicated service to others, the passing of the Queen has reignited questions and conversations about our nationhood and our constitutional arrangements. These are conversations that are a sign of a healthy, mature nation and should not for one moment take away from the very important business of wishing the Queen and her family peace at this difficult time.

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