Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to rise to speak in this very important condolence motion, which of course also congratulates His Majesty King Charles III on ascending to the throne. I want to say that I've been struck by the quality of the contributions made by members from all sides of the parliament and by the many thoughtful observations and insights. Particularly, it's been fascinating to hear the anecdotes of the connections that Her Majesty formed with the people of electorates all across our vast nation. I think this is parliament doing the work that the Australian people would expect of it to acknowledge what is a sad but very significant event in the life of our nation.

As has been widely observed over the last 14 days, Her Majesty's time on the throne, which extended for more than half of the life of this nation post Federation, means that she has been an extraordinarily significant figure in the growth and development of our nation. As has been rightly reflected on, including most recently by the member for Scullin, our nation has changed enormously over that period. Therefore we are reflecting, as we think about her life of service, on the special relationship between Her Majesty and Australia and the way that our own nation has evolved and grown over that extraordinary period of 70 years.

Her first visit, as we've heard, was in 1954, but there was a view from Prime Minister Menzies that some features of that visit involved too much formality, and so there were some changes made. In her second tour, in 1963, she visited housing commission apartments and she delivered a broadcast to Australians in remote communities over the flying doctor network from Alice Springs. One of her other acts, noteworthy for all Australians who love the arts, was opening the Sydney Opera House in 1973—a building which has very rapidly become absolutely iconic and is a globally recognised symbol of our nation. Over the time of Her Majesty's reign, Australia's sense of self and sense of identity has grown and developed. She had a significant part in many steps along the way, including, of course, the opening of this building in which we are all privileged to work, Parliament House, in 1988.

In my electorate of Bradfield, there is great affection for Her Majesty. That does not distinguish my electorate from every electorate around the country, as many members have reported to the House. It's interesting to look back at some of the historical evidence of that affection for Her Majesty. There was spirited debate in the Sydney newspapers in advance of Her Majesty's first visit as to the itinerary of the royal tour, and there were complaints that Her Majesty would not be visiting what was described as 'the most attractive part of Sydney', that being the area from Chatswood north. Of course, I agree that that is the most attractive part of Sydney! The depth of feeling on this issue was so great that two members of the New South Wales Parliament, the members for Gordon and Hornsby, organised a deputation of aldermen to visit then Premier Cahill to demand a change to the royal program. It appears that their efforts were in vain, but a Miss Judith McAviney of Roseville told a reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald that she was delighted to have met her Majesty and the Duke at Concord Repatriation Hospital with these words: 'Even if Her Majesty did not come to us, we certainly came to Her Majesty.'

In recognition and acknowledgement of Her Majesty's personal qualities, John Howard said:

She had a great sense of humour she was a lively conversationalist and she had a wonderful sensitivity towards the different countries that call her Queen.

Prime Minister Gillard recalled her 'engaging sense of humour'. But I think what we can also see is a longstanding interest in Australia, evidenced, among other things, by the fact that she sent her young son to high school in Australia for a period of time.

I want to acknowledge in particular the seriousness and diligence with which she discharged her role as a constitutional monarch, occupying a key place in the systems of government of Britain, Australia, Canada and numerous other countries. It's significant, I think, that her last official act as sovereign was to appoint a new prime minister in the United Kingdom. It was a life of service, a life committed to timeless values and a life aligned with the growth in Australia's own sense of self and confidence.

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