House debates

Friday, 23 September 2022

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

Address

1:24 pm

Photo of Zoe DanielZoe Daniel (Goldstein, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

As the representative of the community of Goldstein, I rise to pay my respect to Her Majesty the late Queen Elizabeth II. Like many Australians, I saw the Queen as a constant, a steadfast female leader and a woman of great dignity and poise who spent her lifetime in the service of the Commonwealth through a period of enormous geopolitical, social and technological change.

Over time, Australians' views of the monarchy have understandably evolved. But in many ways, I think, many of us see the genesis of our connection with the Queen through our grandparents. I acknowledge those of you in our community who have lived your lives through decades of immense change with the Queen as a rudder. Many of you have contacted my office for portraits and to send condolences. My late nan had served in the Australian Women's Army Service in Darwin in World War II. For her, the young Queen taking the throne was a symbol of hope and renewal. She also, I think, as a women of that era, was proud to look up to a female sovereign—as was I.

I acknowledge that some in our community will relate to this and that others will not. To the Boonwurrung people of the Kulin nation, on whose unceded lands Goldstein sits, I acknowledge that this connection that I feel, due in part to my connection with my grandmother, you may not. Indeed, you may feel deep disconnection due to the history that has shadowed generations of your families, and I hear your voices in this people's house.

When I was almost five, the Queen came to Launceston in Tasmania, where I grew up. My nan polished me up for the occasion, and with my mum's help we picked some fresh lilacs from the tree on the nature strip in the street out in front of our house. Mum wrapped the stems in foil from the kitchen drawer. 'The Queen loves lilacs,' Nan said. Together, we found a place along the route that the Queen would take. Times were different then. There were no metal barricades or heavy security that I can recall. The Queen eventually passed by, but I was too shy and she went on her way. When she paused a little further up the route, Nan gave me a nudge, 'Go, go, go now,' she whispered. So I ducked under the flimsy rail or rope, ran to the Queen and, with an awkward curtsy, handed her the flowers. 'Oh, lilacs. They're my favourite,' she smiled. 'Yeah, my nan told me,' I replied. 'Are they from your garden?' she asked. 'Nah, I picked them off the nature strip.' How she laughed! It was a special moment for a little girl and her nan.

But it's not 1977 anymore. To pay my respect to the Queen doesn't erase the possibility that this moment in history provides for reasoned conversations about our future. If we genuinely seek a mature and productive transition to a First Nations voice to this parliament, we must listen to that voice and those voices as we track a way forward, not as a relatively young nation of the Commonwealth but as a land with the oldest living history in the world. We must ensure that we are not sidetracked in the measured steps we take as a nation towards constitutional recognition of the Voice and that it is not allowed to be compromised by conflation with other constitutional concerns. It is overdue. It's a priority, and it demands a clear run to success. If we're to be truly one and free, this is part of that long and patient journey. Just as the young Queen's coronation was a turning point for hope, this is another.

As the federal member for Goldstein, I send my deep respect and my sympathies to Her Majesty's family and my sincere good wishes to King Charles III.

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