Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to rise to speak on this motion of condolence on the death of Queen Elizabeth II and congratulations on the accession of King Charles III. I want to offer my condolences to her family, her people—both in the United Kingdom and in the Commonwealth—and all of those who are mourning her passing, and I want to celebrate this amazing woman: her devotion to duty, the grace, the dignity, the courage. She was a peacemaker. She was committed to her faith and has been described as a gentle Christian soul. She had respect for all those she met, showing strength in the toughest times—the one stable constant globally. She was measured but strong—that iron fist in the velvet glove.

She grew up never expecting to be Queen. The abdication of King Edward VIII came in 1936, when she was just 13. She had to grow up quickly. She had that role, as we know, as a mechanic and driver in World War II. The newspaper dubbed her 'Princess Auto Mechanic.' She gave that wonderful speech at 21, when she declared:

… my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.

Then, when her father, King George, died at 56 in 1952, there was never a hint of, 'Why me?' or, 'Poor me,' at having to take on an unexpected role. She dedicated her life. There are very clear lessons for us all in how she performed her role. She had a wonderful partnership with Prince Philip, and they were a formidable combination. She had that wonderful warmth and kindness. In those endless public events, she never flagged. I saw a report that said she'd personally met around three million people in her life. She was constantly on duty but was a devoted wife and mother, with an extreme love for her family.

We have lost our most important anchor: her unwavering loyalty and the stability she brought to the nation and the Commonwealth and globally. She was steadfast and uplifting in times of national tragedy or trial, like COVID, and always positive in a message of hope: we're in this together, it will be okay, and we will overcome. With that wonderful sense of duty of her generation, she was a key part of the courage and dedication of the royal family during the German Blitz on London in 1940 and 1941. I think, from memory, she is the last head of state who lived through World War II. She had a very profound effect in her visit to Northern Ireland in 2011. What courage that took.

In talking to other women—young and older women—I found that many felt that profound sense of grief and loss. For those of us who lost our mothers, in a sense it was like losing our own mothers again—that wise, strong, reliable and loving presence in our lives. That enormous sense of sadness and loss was shared by men and women. But what a wonderful example she was of how to come to the end of your life genuinely respected. The outpouring of grief and some of the messages in the floral tributes told her story. One said:

It hurts, ma'am. It hurts so bad. We're not ready to bid you farewell … Our hearts are shattered … A world without you is simply unimaginable. A Britain without its platinum Queen is unimaginable. You are irreplaceable. Wherever you are, never stop guiding and protecting us like you have done all these years … you were our strength and stay.

Seventy years on, for those of us fortunate enough to have lived during her reign, I suspect we won't ever see another monarch like her or one who serves 70 years in the role. But I really hope that she knew how much she was loved. I hope she knew how much she was respected, and I hope she knew what an inspiration she's been and will be for generations to come. It has been said that all she could do she has now done. And, as has been said: ma'am, your duty is done. May she rest in eternal peace.

See this speech in context