Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—A year ago today Australians awoke to the end of an era. While we knew that it was coming, it was still a shock. The death of Queen Elizabeth II is a moment that we will never forget, and in the ensuing 12 months what we have seen is the full colour, the full majesty, of the British ceremony and ritual which is a bedrock of the world—the proclamation, the funeral, the coronation. And with the perspective of a year, the life of Queen Elizabeth II is all the more astounding. Her calm, her presence and her image defined half the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st. Her sense of constancy was a source of reassurance to millions, and her selfless life of service is an example to others that will endure through the ages.

In the last 12 months, with a sense of assuredness and grace, we have also seen Prince Charles become King Charles, and in the beginning of his reign we have come to understand that he is unique because, in the entirety of British history, he is the monarch about whose thoughts and ideas we know the most—his passion for urban planning and architecture, his passion for the environment and his passion for the rights and progress of the first nations peoples of the world. Receiving some of his education in our nation, King Charles has a special connection with Australia. As I travel around the country, people often struggle with the name, an Indigenous word, of my electorate. More often than not I am incorrectly described as the member for Corio. I have had the opportunity to meet King Charles once, and that was at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Rwanda last year. It was a delight to me that with perfect pronunciation, he said to me, 'I understand that you are the member for Corio.' Not only does King Charles have a strong affinity with Australia, he knows my hometown of Geelong very well, and so on this anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, we acknowledge her life but at the same time we celebrate and congratulate King Charles III on the first anniversary of his reign.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

r DUTTON (—) (): on indulgence—I associate the coalition with the remarks of the Acting Prime Minister. It was one of those moments in history where people will be able to recall to their children and grandchildren where they were when they first learnt of the news of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. For many of us, our adult lives have been consumed by stories of the life of a wonderful lady who had given to her country and to the realm as well. The continuation now, the seamless continuation, of one monarch to the next is something that we mark today.

As the Acting Prime Minister points out, the work of King Charles III continues seamlessly from that of his mother, and that is something that is reassuring to us in Australia but also, obviously, to the United Kingdom and other countries in the Commonwealth as well. I appreciate the Acting Prime Minister's own story of his encounter with the King. It reminds me a little of Robert Menzies' recall of his moment with Queen Elizabeth II as well. I never thought I'd hear those words in this parliament, but it was a great story, and I can see and hear the emotion in the Acting Prime Minister's recall of that dalliance. It's a wonderful fact that you're able to recall here to the parliament, Acting Prime Minister.

I think, when you look at the outpouring of grief at the passing 12 months ago of Queen Elizabeth II, it reflects humanity, and it reflects the respect that the world had for a leader who provided support to people in many parts of the world—her discreet interventions, in relation to points in history, in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, for the better. She dedicated her life, as I say, to the betterment of her people, and that is why she was revered and respected, and it's why we have great honour in recognising the first anniversary in this chamber today.