Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On indulgence: Last night, the Queen set a record by eclipsing her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, and becoming Britain's longest-serving monarch. As of this morning Queen Elizabeth II has spent 63 years, seven months and four days on the throne. It is a long time, and the Queen has conducted herself with dignity and decency during this time. The Queen is the only ruling monarch to have visited Australia. Our national anthem until 1984, God Save the Queen, prayed for Queen Elizabeth 'long to reign over us' and that she has done.

During her reign she has witnessed the coming and going of 12 British prime ministers, 12 Australian Prime Ministers, and 12 American presidents. What she has not witnessed is an Australian head of state. She has witnessed 20 nations gaining independence from Britain, but Australia has not been one of them. To her great credit, the Queen has never denied this to us and after the last referendum on becoming a republic, in 1999, she said:

I have always made it clear that the future of the monarchy in Australia is an issue for you, the Australian people, and you alone, to decide by democratic and constitutional means.

One hundred years ago, when our constitutional and democratic means were being put in place, the British monarch was enshrined as our head of state, in a time when Australia was a very different nation. We were a colonial outpost in a country and in a region that we did not understand and we were not engaging with. Asian Australians who had migrated to Australia had no pathway to citizenship in the Australia of federation. Indigenous Australians, who were here for tens of thousands of years, were not even counted in our census.

For the white men who encompassed and comprised the federation parliament, who were required by law to be British subjects to be eligible to sit in that parliament and who joined together in the Melbourne Royal Exhibition Building for that very first sitting, the British monarchy may well have been, in the words of Henry Parkes, the 'crimson thread of kinship' that united them. But even then it did not unite them with Indigenous Australians. Even then it did not unite them with the already-large Chinese Australian community in Little Bourke Street, just five minutes walk away from where they met. It certainly does not unite the diverse, egalitarian nation that we have become today.

We should say this clearly in this House: the institution of monarchy is wrong. It is un-Australian. It is an affront to the democratic values that brought all of us to this place. It is an affront to the egalitarian values that our nation holds dear. It is exclusive by its very nature and it entrenches the kind of unearned privilege that we seek to roll back in all other aspects of our society. We know this instinctively. We know that the monarchy does not reflect modern Australia. We know this because when we sit at the cricket during the Ashes and the Barmy Army sings 'God save your gracious Queen' they know that it irritates us and they know that it does not reflect us. This is why they do it.

If Australians gathered here today to write their Constitution it would be unfathomable that we would chose a person from another country to be our head of state. We would demand that our head of state be Australian—one of us. We would demand that they be chosen in a way that reflected Australian values. It would be unfathomable to most Australians that we would impose a religious test on eligibility for the position or advantage one gender over another. Yet, only this year, parliament debated the farcical Succession to the Crown Bill 2015 which, among other things, allowed for a future Australian monarch to marry a Catholic and determined that role succession would be determined by birth and not by gender. Suitors of possible future Australian heads of state who are atheist, Buddhist, Hindu or Muslim are still left out in the cold. Australia should be a place where every young boy and girl can aspire to be their nation's head of state. We should be a country where we chose our head of state based on their character and qualifications and their ability to unite us and represent us as a nation, not based on who their parents happen to be.

The Queen is a benevolent head of state, and I am genuine in expressing my appreciation for the sacrifices that she has endured after being born into this life. But I am also struck with a feeling of 'what if?'. What if our head of state were one of us? I make no apologies for the pride that I feel in the nation that Australia has become. We are a multicultural, egalitarian and independent nation. We should embrace it and adopt constitutional arrangements that reflect it.

I congratulate the Queen on reaching this milestone; I wish her and her family good health and thank her for her service. But to put it in Australian terms, 'Well done, Liz, but we can take it from here.'

Bruce Scott (Maranoa, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with a great sense of pride that I rise today to pay tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who yesterday took the title of the longest-serving United Kingdom monarch. She has exceeded the reign of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, who served for 63 years seven months and two days.

But it is not about the milestone; it is not about the fact that she has served longer than any other monarch and has served longer than Queen Victoria. I think that what she has done in her lifetime in making that commitment is a value that we could all learn from. Her commitment was that she would reign for as long as she would live—I am not quite sure of her exact words, but that was her commitment, in effect.

As a very young child at the time of her coronation, I well remember the celebration across many parts of Australia—in fact, also being brought in from a country town in western Queensland on a steam train to see Her Majesty at the Brisbane cricket ground—the Gabba today. I think it was in 1956, as she made a visit around many parts of Australia. It was a celebration; it was one of those things that brought our community together. And throughout her life Her Majesty has brought stability to the role of Queen and monarch and also to the role of head-of-state, represented here very well by the Governor General.

Queen Elizabeth originally assumed the throne at the age of 25—a very young person. She never aspired to become the Queen; it was one of those things that her life course has taken her on. Throughout her reign she has made official visits to 116 countries together with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, who has also visited my constituency. They have been married for some 68 years. I know that when there is a royal visit to Australia, whether it be by the Queen with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, or Prince Charles and his wife or the younger royals, it is amazing that those people who say they support a republic are always in the front row. I have witnessed that here recently in Parliament House, with people wanting to get forward and shake the hand of Prince William in the Great Hall. So, they are an inspiration. But I think it is the values and the role that they play and represent that brings so many people together, to want to be associated with the visit and all that it stands for.

One of the great things about the Commonwealth, of which she is head, is that under her reign it has gone from a very small organisation to now having representation by 53 Commonwealth countries around the world. The Commonwealth is a great force for good and, once again, I think it is associated with Her Majesty's leadership. The very fact that she is the head of the Commonwealth has brought these countries together not based on ethnicity or geography. I have witnessed many of these meetings over the time, and it is not based on the colour of your skin and it is not based on your religion. They are Commonwealth countries that have the rule of law in a parliamentary system based on the Westminster system but, once again, wanting to associate strongly with the Commonwealth headed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.

The other thing that I think the Commonwealth has done—obviously, through Her Majesty's leadership in leading the Commonwealth and bringing it together—is the establishment of the Commonwealth Games. The Commonwealth Games bring, once again, the countries of the Commonwealth together to compete on the sporting field on equal terms. In many cases young athletes never achieve the opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games. The Commonwealth Games bring to the sporting field athletes from all walks of life with different religions and backgrounds from countries geographically spread around the world. That is a legacy that I will always look towards and say that it is one of the great strengths of the Commonwealth, along with the great leadership and inspiration that comes from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for all of us to follow.

In my constituency, the seat of Maranoa, when there was a referendum to see whether Australia might become a republic it was one of those hotly debated debates. There was a constitutional meeting here in Canberra that brought people together to see what the question should be. The member on my right might have been there or inspired to make a submission as to what form of question we should have. I watched with interest because I thought that, as members, we were going to have to communicate a message to our constituency. I am very pleased that my constituency of Maranoa had the highest no vote for change from the existing system of constitutional monarchy for all that it represents and all the civility that it brings to us. It had the highest no vote in Australia.

An honourable member: It was 77 per cent.

Indeed it was. I remember at the time the Prime Minister, John Howard, whose constituency, I might add, voted for it, said, 'Bruce, how did they go in Maranoa?' I said, 'They voted overwhelmingly no.' He said, 'Well done in the kingdom of Maranoa.' I said, 'Prime Minister, they were well informed.'

But it is more than that. Change for the sake of change means nothing. The stability that we enjoy under the constitutional monarchy, under the Westminster system of parliament, has brought great stability to this nation. It has brought us through turmoil, drought and all sorts of conflicts that we have been involved in around the world. It is the stability—the leadership and the inspiration that is taken from that stability—that has been provided by Her Majesty, through the Governor-General, through our system of government, that really matters at the end of the day.

Her Majesty has made a number of trips, and I know of at least one major one to western Queensland for the opening of the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame in 1988. The people of Longreach still recall that moment. They were not only privileged but also they felt very inspired by the fact that Her Majesty had taken up the invitation and very graciously opened what is a very important part of the history and heritage not only of early settlement in Australia but also of the stockmen and the Aboriginal people and the stories that are told and continue to be told at the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame.

I have to say that I am a very proud monarchist, with a lifetime of loyalty to Her Majesty the Queen and our flag. I can say on behalf of my constituency that I think I reflect their views as well. On behalf of my constituency, congratulations to Her Majesty. We thank you for the magnificent service and inspiration that you give us all. We wish you very good health and long may you reign.

Stephen Jones (Throsby, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The moderated hostility of parliament's question time was briefly interrupted yesterday as the Prime Minister moved that the House reflect upon the fact that Queen Elizabeth II, the House of Windsor, the Queen of England and Australia had become our country's longest serving monarch. I pay tribute to the contribution of Queen Elizabeth II, a remarkable public servant, who for 63 years, seven months and four days, I am reliably informed, has out-reigned over all who have come before her.

The role of the English royalty in our Constitution and in our public fascination means that she has been a constant feature for all of my life. At school I faithfully sang the words, 'God save our gracious Queen,' as we fulfilled that morning ritual around the school's flagpole.

The song was our national anthem for most of my childhood. Although Gough Whitlam first proposed a change in 1972, it was not until 1984, just months before the Los Angeles Olympics, that Advance Australia Fair replaced the English tune as our national anthem. How strange it must seem today that after beating the British in the stadium we sang their national anthem while our sporting heroes stood there on the Olympic dais.

The path to independence has been a long one. The act of Federation 115 years ago was not an act of independence. For instance, the doctrine of repugnancy, whereby our laws of the Commonwealth parliament could be overruled by the British parliament, survived well into the 20th century. It was no dead letter. There were acts of parliament that were rejected. The Commonwealth parliament's Navigation Act of 1912 was held to be invalid in a 1925 High Court decision because it was inconsistent with an act of the British parliament, the Imperial Merchant Shipping Act of 1894. In 1931 the Statute of Westminster, again an act of the British parliament, finally freed the Commonwealth of Australia from the reach of the repugnancy doctrine. However, there continued to be some uncertainty in respect of the state parliaments. It was not until the 1986 Australia acts when the British and Australian parliaments consecutively legislated to bring an end to the paramount power of the British parliament in respect of Australia. It has been a long march indeed.

This year we celebrate the centenary of Anzac. One hundred years ago, in the name of king and country and on behalf of empire, we were rallied by our own Labor Prime Minister, Andrew Fisher, to fight to our last man and our last shilling in a European war. They fought in the name of the Australian Imperial Force. There were over 416,000 over them, of which 60,000 were killed and 156,000 wounded, gassed or taken prisoner in a foreign land.

Can I talk about citizenship? The acts of war and terrorism have caused us to contemplate of late the rights and responsibilities of Australian citizenship. It surprises many to learn that in the 115 years of Federation, Australian citizenship is a relatively new arrival. Under the Naturalisation Act of 1903, the Commonwealth government attained the great honour of being able to naturalise aliens, giving them the rights and privileges of British subjects. It was not until 1920 that federal government took effective control and responsibility of selecting who would come to Australia and the circumstances under which they would come, when it gained final control of its migration program. The Nationality Act of 1920 provided clarity by introducing a definition of who was a natural-born British subject.

Indeed it was nearly 50 years since Federation that the notion of Australian citizenship was created through the Nationality and Citizenship Act of 1948, which came into effect a year later. Prior to that date, Australians could only hold the status of British subjects, unless of course you were one of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who had lived continuously practising their culture in this country for over 40,000 years. It was not until 1967 when they were recognised as Australian citizens.

There has been a 20-year hiatus in the march to independence. Over those 20 years, the day-to-day reality of our imperial heritage has waned. In terms of trade we are more integrated into the economies of Asia. In defence and national security our immediate interests lie in the Asia-Pacific region and with those countries for whom that is their No. 1 defence and strategic interest. This is where our future lies. And as we limber up the heated debates about the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, it is worth reflecting upon the observations of former Prime Minister Paul Keating, the architect of our status as an open trading nation and the man who has done more than most to reorientate our national focus with the nations of this region. In 1995 he observed, and I quote:

Australia will be taken more seriously as a player in regional affairs if we are clear about our identity and demonstrate that we really mean to stand on our own feet practically and psychologically.

It was true then. It is true today.

In the turn of the last century a new nation was born. It was crafted in the antipodes from the colonies of Britain. It was as inspired by the democracy in North America as it was loyal to the imperial sovereign. In the 115 years since, we have built one of the most successful, peaceful and wealthy nations on earth. It has not been without fault or cost. For too long we denied the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People. We have not always been good custodians of the land and we persisted with the notion of White Australia long after we knew it was wrong. I remain committed to the ideal of a prosperous, stable, outward-looking democracy reconciled with its Aboriginal people, confident as a new republic but proud of its British ancestry. We do have, within our grasp, the ability to build an economic powerhouse, an open-trading nation that is truly integrated with the nations of this region. But as a republic.

To those who oppose the dream of an Australian republic it is time for them to be honest. The unadorned core of their refusal is the firm belief that none of us—not one Australian—is good enough to be our Australian head of state. So today I pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth. I hope that she may continue to enjoy a long life and good health and be as well received in the nations of the world as she has been for the last 63 years. But I can no longer stare up at our flag and sing those words, 'Long may she reign over us.'

Sarah Henderson (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call the member for Ryan I just want to add my tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and her long and outstanding service of our nation.

Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to pay tribute to the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who, as we know, today has become the longest reigning British—and therefore Australian—head of state. It truly is a remarkable record, spanning generations of political leadership, wars and the evolution of the role of Great Britain in the Commonwealth and in world affairs. Throughout, the Queen has kept a relentless schedule of public engagements while demonstrating a dignified, level-headed and subtly effective approach to diplomacy when the times have required it.

To put her reign in perspective, consider that the Queen commenced her time on the throne in February 1952. Sir Robert Menzies was just three years into his own record-breaking leadership, leading a Liberal Party less than a decade old. The world was just seven years removed from the Second World War and global leaders were still defined by that conflict. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom was the great Winston Churchill. The President of the United States was Harry Truman. Joseph Stalin was Premier of the Soviet Union and Mao Zedong was Chairman of the Communist Party of China.

Among those giants of world history was a 25-year-old Queen Elizabeth II, ascending to the throne on the death of her father, her claim to the Crown only possible due to the abdication of her uncle, Edward VIII, 16 years earlier. Since then, through seven decades, 12 British prime ministers and 13 Australian prime ministers, the Queen has remained a constant in global politics. When you consider how the world has evolved since then, it is possible to grasp the level of wisdom and experience she has gained during her reign.

The role of a modern British monarch is a mix of ceremony, politics and diplomacy. During her reign the Queen has certainly demonstrated her unwavering commitment to that role. Since taking the throne the Queen has kept up a brisk pace of public engagement. Even at the age of 89 she keeps a schedule that would tax people half her age. She has given her life to serving the people of Great Britain and the Commonwealth and shows little sign of slowing down.

During her reign, Her Majesty has shown deference to representative politics befitting a modern monarch in a parliamentary democracy. However, in her role as head of state she has, at times, been called upon to participate in political decision making. On two occasions she has been required to appoint a new British Prime Minister on the advice of the cabinet. However, it is in her role in leading and representing the Commonwealth's interests abroad in which she has truly excelled: over the years deftly managing Britain's evolving role in the Commonwealth as they completed their transition from colonial master to ally and partner as their remaining colonies in Africa, South Asia, Oceania and the Caribbean transitioned to independence.

In her first Christmas broadcast the Queen said:

At Christmas our thoughts are always full of our homes and our families. This is the day when members of the same family try to come together, or if separated by distance or events meet in spirit and affection by exchanging greetings.

She then went on to say:

But we belong, you and I, to a far larger family. We belong, all of us, to the British Commonwealth and Empire, that immense union of nations, with their homes set in all the four corners of the earth. Like our own families, it can be a great power for good - a force which I believe can be of immeasurable benefit to all humanity.

That the Queen has remained a revered and beloved figure throughout the Commonwealth over this at times turbulent period is testament to her diplomatic skill, her clear commitment and her ability to command respect and adherence. As a frequent visitor to Commonwealth nations, the Queen has visited Australia 16 times during her reign. There is a genuine affinity and respect for her when she visits us, which seems only to grow with each visit. Indeed, it is the lament of many an Australian republican that Australian voters appear unwilling to part with the monarchy for as long as Elizabeth remains on the throne.

This is not a uniquely Australian phenomenon. In the past decade, voters in the Commonwealth nations of St Vincent and the Grenadines and Tuvalu have similarly rejected moves to dispense with the practice of adopting the British monarch as head of state. Much of this respect and affection comes down to her personal style. Queen Elizabeth at all times gives the outward impression of calmness, competence and pragmatism. She has always had a realistic understanding of both the privileges and the limitations on her role as monarch in a modern democratic society. Never has she sought to play an activist role in day-to-day government; however, she has always been willing to offer sound counsel to leaders who have sought it and to represent the interests of Great Britain and the Commonwealth when called upon.

In this place we know that holding public office is an honour and a privilege, but that it also comes at a cost of increased scrutiny and reduced privacy, so we can only imagine the pressures that come from 63 years at the head of a family that lives very much in the public eye. The Queen has endured family scandal and tragedies often gleefully exposed by a creative and evermore enterprising tabloid media. Throughout, however, the Queen has carried herself with dignity and composure. Whether one is republican, monarchist or ambivalent, Queen Elizabeth's record reign is a remarkable achievement. It is rare indeed for a public figure to be so universally respected and admired, and for Her Majesty to retain the affection of the people after all these years speaks volumes about her qualities as a leader. I add my congratulations to Her Majesty today and wish her good health and good fortune to continue her reign for many years to come.

Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to congratulate Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, who yesterday became the longest-serving British monarch ever. I am a republican, but I never want to overshadow how important the Queen is to the British or how important it is for people who share my beliefs to not be glib or rude about the role of the monarchy. Queen Elizabeth is a public servant; she has lived her entire life in service to her country, and I respect that. Britain is a country that faces many challenges and, frankly, great division. Queen Elizabeth has been a constant, a comfort, a fixture for her people in a very fast-changing world.

We are a very young democracy and today we acknowledge that the Queen has been our head of state for 63 years—that is more than half of our life as a federated nation. She is part of our history, and she is always going to be so. But part of our history is where I believe the monarchy should remain. In 1952, when the Queen became our head of state, Australia was a completely different country. We were a monocultural nation where it was deemed perfectly acceptable that we determine our immigration policies based on people's race. New Australians, as they were called, were expected to quickly assimilate into our way of doing things. Our First Australians were, at the time, subject to an extraordinary range of discriminatory policies. In those days a woman's place was in the home, and of all the people who had ever been elected to federal parliament just three of them were women. It was a nation where it made perfect sense that we thought of ourselves as being part of the British Empire. Menzies said that we were, 'British to the bootstraps,' and at the time almost all Australians agreed with him except a ragtag group of radical republicans, of which my grandfather was one.

As a smaller and younger democracy, things here change very quickly—much faster than where our Queen lives, over 17,000 kilometres away. Today I represent an electorate where most of the people in it come from migrant families. Almost half of my constituents were born overseas. They come from more than 150 different countries and cultures around the world and for most of them Britain, the Queen and the monarchy have nothing to do with their fiercely Australian identity. The reason for this is very simple and very straightforward—that is, the values that the incredible people that I represent espouse as Australians have nothing to do with the values that are espoused by the monarchy. The fundamental principle of the monarchy is that power should come from birthright. The monarchy is a sexist institution because the Queen would never have even been the Queen had she had a brother who, just by virtue of being male, would have taken precedence over her right to the throne. In recent years, we have done an incredibly modern thing and updated the laws of succession to allow the eldest child of the royal family to become the king or queen. But discrimination still remains because when Charles becomes king then Camilla will become the queen, but the husband of a future queen will never be a king. The reason for that is very simple: a king is always considered to be more powerful than a queen simply because she is a woman.

It does not stop there. To become a member of parliament I am not required to join or to be prevented from joining any religious group. Our Constitution declares that there should be no religious test to office and all of us in the chamber would surely agree that the idea of this would be practically and fundamentally ridiculous. It is one of the most basic principles of a secular democracy. But for our head of state, the person who governs over our country, the opposite applies. Due to a recent change, the head of state is, again in an amazing step forward, allowed to marry a Catholic, but they are forbidden from being a Catholic themselves. Within my electorate alone Catholics make up the largest faith community. So 35,000 people that I represent align themselves with that religion, yet that religion is seen by the rules of succession as being so threatening that it would rule any future monarch ineligible. In Hotham there are almost as many Buddhists as there are Anglicans, and non-religious people outnumber Anglicans twofold, but while the recent changes allow a monarch to marry a Catholic when they are crowned, they must still declare that they are a faithful Protestant and in communion with the Church of England. So I say that not only is our head of state and the monarchy unrepresentative of our nation—one of the most multicultural in the world—but that they also actively discriminate against a large group of people by continuing to preference one religion over another, and one gender over another.

I believe that we simply cannot be the best version of ourselves as Australians until this fundamental building block of our political system is removed. Today, the foundations of our system do not merely fail to reflect who we are as Australians, they reflect values that are anathema to us as Australians: values of hereditary privilege, of discrimination and of exclusion. The notion that this institution is appropriate to preside over this incredible, multicultural, outward looking country, one of the most peaceful and diverse democracies in the world, is wrong. We are big enough to stand on our own two feet and we will be a lot better off for it. Australia is the complete opposite of everything the monarchy represents: we are a young nation, strong, friendly, informal, kind, open and we find titles and pomp and ceremony amusing—something to poke a bit of fun at, not to revere. We love our neighbours no matter what religion, what gender or what sexuality they are. That is what it is to be Australian. Our head of state should be one of us; it is really that simple. We are one Australian people from many different backgrounds and what brings us together, unlike the British, has nothing to do with someone who has visited our country just 16 times over their 60-year reign over us as a people.

I want to congratulate the Queen, I really do. She has devoted her life to her kingdom and she will be forever part of our history as Australians, but I do not believe that she should form any part in our future.

Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I take this opportunity to join with the Prime Minister and my parliamentary colleagues in congratulating Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on reaching a significant milestone in her glorious reign of 63 years and 218 days, surpassing the record set by her great, great grandmother, Queen Victoria. This morning, I had the honour of joining the Governor-General, Sir Peter Cosgrove; church leaders and colleagues at St Paul's Anglican church in Manuka to attend the national ecumenical service to mark the occasion of Her Majesty becoming Britain's longest serving sovereign.

The Queen is Head of the Commonwealth and Supreme Governor of the Church of England. During her reign, the world has changed remarkably through momentous economic, social and political events; conflicts and international events she has reigned with dignity, integrity and grace. Her devotion to duty and public service is unparalleled. Citizens of Commonwealth nations have enjoyed decades of stability, security, good governance and comparatively high standards of living compared with other nations. Commonwealth countries are united by diplomacy, by international cooperation and through sporting events.

Today, we celebrate the British heritage of our multicultural nation and all that is good about Australia: our culture, customs and traditions; our system of government; our rule of law; our industrialised economy and our Defence Force. We should be proud of this heritage and never seek to diminish our British heritage from history. We owe our high standard of living and our peaceful and secure society to a stable constitutional monarchy that is built on the British heritage. This fact must never be lost in the national debate on multiculturalism and reconciliation.

I believe that there should be mutual respect and recognition of all the cultures on which our nation is founded, without selective omission. The constitutional monarchy is part of our culture. It defines us. We must never downplay the significance of British culture in today's multicultural Australian society. We should celebrate it as an integral part of the pluralistic culture that defines us as modern Australians.

Throughout my lifetime, I have witnessed the Queen's silver, ruby, gold and diamond jubilees. My grandparents instilled in me a healthy respect for our sovereign. I have fond memories of queueing up for hours to see the Queen in public on two occasions: at Perth Airport, when Her Majesty was in Perth, and Government House. I am proud to say that members of my extended family have been loyal servants of the British crown over the generations in the military, clergy and banking. Their distinguished service has been recognised with knighthoods and ennoblements in the baronetage of the United Kingdom of South Hill Park, Broadwell and Filkins.

I pay special tribute to Her Majesty with the words:

O Lord our God arise,

Scatter her enemies

And make them fall;

Confound their politics,

Frustrate their knavish tricks,

On Thee our hopes we fix,

Oh! Save us all!

Thy choicest gifts in store

On her be pleased to pour;

Long may she reign;

May she defend our laws,

And ever give us cause

To sing with heart and voice,

God save the Queen!

Thank you.

Nick Champion (Wakefield, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a great pleasure to be speaking on our longest serving monarch—63 years, seven months and four days. Queen Elizabeth II has certainly given a great service to the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and Australia. We are very lucky to have a monarch of such good character and of such longevity, and it has given Australia a great sense of stability and certainty as we have gone about our own democracy to have a monarch such as the Queen.

In the electorate of Wakefield we have a great deal of affection for Queen Elizabeth, because the city at the centre of my electorate, the City of Elizabeth, was named after Her Majesty. I have some affection for that city, having been born in the local hospital. My father came from the United Kingdom and my parents lived there for the first years of their marriage and the first years of my life. So Queen Elizabeth will always have a very special place in my electorate and in the City of Elizabeth.

The parliamentary library was good enough to get this front page from The Canberra Times, which records Queen Elizabeth's visit to Elizabeth in 1954. Interestingly enough, the subheading is '500 treated at rallies for Queen' and underneath that is 'Heat tolls'. It must have been a very hot day there in Elizabeth. It does get very warm. There were children from Goolwa, the Barossa Valley and Elizabeth at the Ridley Road reserve waiting for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. The article talks about 3,000 members of the choir being in a very confined space at the front of the dais and waiting in anticipation—some of them fainting, succumbing to the heat, and ambulance men treating children with aspirin, cool drinks and ice-filled towels. The affection for the Queen was such that people were prepared to put up with a very hot day in South Australia. We do get some scorchers, and the further north you go, the hotter it gets.

This story also talks, very importantly, about the highlight of the visit, which was the unveiling by the Queen of a commemorative fountain on Windsor Green, a three-acre park built by the South Australian Housing Trust. It is very interesting. The history of this park was that it was just next to the council chambers and the Elizabeth shopping centre. People, often, fondly recall to me having had lunch there under the trees and in the park when they were at work or out there shopping. It is a great sadness that this park is now a car park for the shopping centre, covered with bitumen, and now only cars and people race to the shopping centre. Windsor Green is now a distant memory.

Interesting enough, the commemorative fountain with the golden tap was lost for many years. The mayor and the City of Playford played some role in finding the fountain. It was found at SA Water, away in storage. They were desperately trying to get this fountain reinstalled in an appropriate place in what is now the city of Playford—it was the City of Elizabeth—so the Queen could return to reopen the fountain, which she opened in 1954. Sadly, they could not get the building and construction in place in time for the most recent visit.

It tells you a lot about not just the history of my electorate but the history of Australia and the history of the Queen's long reign as our constitutional monarch. I am a republican, but I do recognise that this long period of certainty and stability in our constitutional affairs is something to be treasured and admired. It is, in many ways, a tribute to the character of the Queen herself. These are human affairs, monarchies and governance around the world, and so they rely on people being of good character and good judgement. We have been very fortunate in Queen Elizabeth II to find that good character and good judgement. We can only hope that future presidents of Australia look to her as a guide on how to undertake their roles, with an eye to stability and certainty in our constitutional affairs and in the role of head of state of our nation. With that, I would like to echo the previous member, the member for Moore, and say God save the Queen and long may she reign over us.

Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too rise to say a few words on this occasion of Her Majesty the Queen surpassing Queen Victoria and becoming the longest-reigning monarch of the UK, and obviously of Australia as well. It was interesting to hear the contribution of the previous speaker, the member for Wakefield. I am sure he knows that his electorate voted very strongly against becoming a republic, so I am sure he will continue to represent the views of his electorate in this place whenever the subject of a republic comes up. It was good to see him holding up a newspaper as well; he has done some research. And, obviously, he said some kind words about the Queen.

The Queen's reign has now reached 63 years, seven months and two days. Most of us in this House have known no other monarch in our lives, although there are a couple of exceptions—I will not mention their names! What I can say though is that there is no member in this place that could come close to matching the 63 years of public service that the Queen has clocked up. The Queen famously once said:

There is a motto which has been borne by many of my ancestors, a noble motto, 'I serve'. I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service …

That she meant these words has never been in any doubt. In fact only yesterday, on the day she overtook Queen Victoria, while acknowledging the milestone she also said that she considered it 'the same as any other day, a working day'. As we heard from the member for Throsby earlier, I also have memories of singing God save the Queen every Monday morning in the schoolyard around the flagpole. I also remember her visiting Victoria while I was still a child. I have very fond memories of that. Both of my foster parents were strong monarchists. Although they originally came from South Africa, they were enthralled by the monarchy, what it stood for and how it reigned over not only the UK and Australia but also the many other Commonwealth nations around the world.

In WA the Queen enjoys extremely high levels of public support. There was only one electorate in the whole of Western Australia that supported the vote on the republic back in the late nineties, and that was, would you believe, the most conservative of our seats in Western Australia—the seat of Curtin! Yesterday's newspaper, the commemorative edition of the West Australian, was entitled 'Glorious reign' and included eight pages celebrating the Queen's reign, which is indicative of the extremely high levels of public support for the Queen in Western Australia. As we know, there is a major infrastructure project happening down on the river, near the CBD, which will be named Elizabeth Quay, obviously after Queen Elizabeth. I know the state's Premier was very proud in making that one of his captain's picks, but I am sure it will be a good tribute to the Queen.

There were some great photos and images in the paper yesterday from across the Queen's reign, including her visit to Clontarf academy in my electorate on 27 October 2011. Clontarf, as many members would be aware, is based in Waterford and is a highly successful sporting academy for Indigenous students. As the member for Swan, I was fortunate enough to attend this event and see at close range the magic touch the Queen has with the people of Australia. The purpose of the Queen's visit to Clontarf was to officially open a new boarding house at the school. While the ceremony was performed extremely well, it was what came after the ceremony that was indicative of and epitomised everything that is good about the Queen. Instead of leaving immediately after the ceremony, the Queen spent a generous amount of time with the students at the school watching football and basketball games, sitting in on a reading and visiting a home economics class where the students were making kangaroo stew. Whether she actually tasted the kangaroo stew or not, I am not sure. I am sure that they will never forget meeting the Queen, just as the many thousands of people she has met around the world will never forget.

I also had the opportunity to be near the Queen when she was at the garden party that was held in Perth in recognition of her visit in 2011. It was great to see so many school children there. The Queen went out of her way to spend time with them. She spent more time with them than with the adults at the garden party! On a personal note, I wrote to both the Premier and the Prime Minister's office at the time to ask whether, I could be part of the welcoming party for the Queen when she landed at Perth Airport, which is in my electorate. Unfortunately I got a negative from both the Premier's office and the Prime Minister's office. But some wag leaked the letter to the newspapers and I now have a great cartoon from The West Australian newspaper that shows me being escorted away from Buckingham Palace, which I now hang proudly in my office. As I said, those kids will never forget meeting the Queen, as I am sure we have seen with her other visits around the world.

I have also spoken about the 1999 republic referendum. In my electorate of Swan we voted no. The margin, coincidentally, was the same as my current 2PP margin. I am hoping that my constituents still represents those views, and I will continue to represent their views on this matter as well.

Part of the success of the Queen's reign has been the constancy she has shown and also how she has moved with the times. She seems as at home today in a sea of iPhones as she did on the back of the jeep at Forest Oval in York in 1954. Of course, the Duke has always been by her side. Congratulations to Queen Elizabeth II on her reign. I am sure she will have many more days and many more records to break. Well done to Queen Elizabeth for her service to her country and to the Commonwealth.

Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure to join in this motion and congratulate the wonderful achievement of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on becoming the longest-serving English monarch—with a term of 63 years and seven months, or 23,226 days. During that time, we have seen our Queen provide continuity and stability. She has done so with grace, dignity and decency.

This is a good opportunity the reflect on how successful a constitutional monarchy has been for our nation. We have seen perhaps a million migrants come to this country from failed republics, and one of the reasons they have come is for the continuity and stability that a constitutional monarchy provides to our nation. Ultimately, the only power that the Queen has in Australia is to deny power to others. That is why our system of constitutional monarchy works—because it prevents a concentration of power at any one level of our society. There are some who still rabbit on about the need for a republic. For 20 years they have talked about it but they are yet to come up with any model that even comes close to our constitutional monarchy. Their latest argument is that we should agree to have some form of republic and a group of elites will at some time down the track work it all out for us—we will give them a blank cheque and they will fill in what the republic is. The simple reason they cannot come up with a better model is that no-one has yet invented one.

The idea of saying yes when asked whether we want a republic and having some group work out what type of republic they will give us is analogous to being asked whether we would like to go on a holiday but not being told where to. Yes; everyone would like to go on a holiday. But if I told you that you were going to go to perhaps Raqqa or Pyongyang you might think again. Likewise, unless they can come up with a model of a republic that they consider is better than our current constitutional monarchy, it should simply be rejected. Long may Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II continue to reign over us.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on what I believe is an important debate, acknowledging the longest reigning monarch in history, Queen Elizabeth II, who visited Wagga Wagga, my hometown, on 13 February 1954. The Daily Advertiser produced a special edition on the occasion with the headline, 'Wagga's greatest day'—indeed it was. It remains so, for our young monarch spent 145 minutes in town. The population of the city was then about 8,000 and yet 18,000 turned out to throng the streets lined with bunting. Flags were waved proudly, school children were there in their masses, and it was just, as I said, Wagga's greatest day.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana spent time at Woomargama, just down the road from Wagga Wagga, when they visited in 1983. There were obviously some important close connections with the earlier visit by Queen Elizabeth II. I have to give credit to Rhonda Schipp—wife of the former member for Wagga Wagga Joe Schipp, a Liberal—who maintains a very strong and proactive role in the Australians for Constitutional Monarchy in Wagga Wagga. When the recent debate, the perennial debate, occurred about whether Australia should become a republic, Mrs Schipp came out swinging, as you would expect her to. She said that she believes our current system with the Queen as our head of state provides the nation with a platform of stability. And indeed it does.

Andrew Nikolic (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Hear, hear!

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Bass was a commandant at the 1st Recruit Training Battalion at Kapooka, and of course the Army's links with our proud traditions of the monarchy remain very firm through to this day. I look forward to his contribution to this debate.

Queen Elizabeth II has surpassed Queen Victoria as history's longest reigning monarch—as the British Empire's longest reigning monarch. When you can reign for 63 years and seven months in public life—that is truly an extraordinary effort. We have much to praise with our Queens, certainly Queen Elizabeth II. Queen Victoria had two Australian states named after her, Victoria and Queensland. She reigned from 1837 until her death in 1901. Her husband, Prince Albert, who died at a very young age, had Lake Albert in Wagga Wagga named after him. It was built in the 1890s. He died in 1861. From his death until her death, Queen Victoria dressed in black, in mourning, and was rarely seen in London.

Our current Queen certainly is far more colourful. Her grace, her elegance and her presence are to be admired. She has certainly led the Commonwealth superbly for more than six decades. I am sure that all Australians join with members of parliament in acknowledging her wonderful leadership and her wonderful role in public life. It is interesting to note that, amongst the clamour of calls for a republic, whenever the Queen visits or whenever we have a royal visit, particularly to Parliament House, the first ones jostling to get in line to get a photo—the first ones falling over themselves and pushing the monarchists out of the way—are the republicans. It is truly amazing. They love her. We all love her. We all love the royals. The Queen has given sterling service. May she long reign over us.

Andrew Nikolic (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I congratulate the member for Riverina, the member for Swan and others on their excellent contributions. It is little wonder that members on both sides of the House join the Australian people in acknowledging the extraordinary contribution of Her Majesty the Queen and particularly the milestone she achieved yesterday, 9 September, in relation to her historic reign. Yesterday, Her Majesty became the longest serving monarch in British history, surpassing her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, who sat on the throne for 63 years and 216 days. What an extraordinary achievement over six decades of selfless service.

Australia's constitutional arrangements established on 1 January 1901 describe the parliament as encompassing three parts: the Queen, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Queen then was Queen Victoria who, until yesterday, held the distinction of longest reigning British monarch. Her great-great-granddaughter is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and who can ever forget the difficult circumstances of her ascension to the throne? King George VI, the Queen's father, died in his sleep in the early hours of 6 February 1952. He was also the last Emperor of India and the first head of the Commonwealth.

The then Princess Elizabeth, accompanied by her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, were travelling to Australia. It is characteristic of the Queen's adherence to the motto 'duty first' that her first response to being advised of the death of her beloved father was to write letters of apology to the governments of Australia and New Zealand that her imminent visit would be postponed. That sense of duty above self has endured and is the hallmark of the Queen's reign, who has been supported at every step by her husband, Prince Philip. The principles of duty and hard work have been her North Star all of these decades.

As monarch, the Queen has consistently demonstrated her love of Australia and our interests. The member for Riverina and others have talked about her many visits to Australia during her long reign, which have always been received with enormous affection and respect. It is remarkable when you think the Queen has known and advised 12 prime ministers, from Sir Robert Menzies to the present day, and she has always taken her constitutional rights very seriously. They are, of course, the right to be consulted, the right to encourage and the right to warn. In 63 years the Queen has never betrayed a confidence given to her, by any of those prime ministers, in any of her realms. She has not played personal politics, and yet anything politically done is done in her name.

I am proud to have worn the Queen's commission, as an officer of the Australian Regular Army, for 31 years, first as a soldier and then as second lieutenant and through to brigadier and, particularly, as a nine-year veteran of the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment. Indeed, all members of the armed services in the 16 realms hold the Queen's commission. They swear a pledge of allegiance to the Queen and her heirs and successors, according to law. I notice that hanging on my wall in Parliament House is my own oath of allegiance on 16 January 1979. I pledged allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen of Australia, her heirs and successors and undertook to 'loyally and faithfully serve Her Majesty as a soldier in the Australian Army' at that stage for a period of six years or until such time as my service was lawfully terminated and to discharge all of the duties of a soldier, 'according to law'. That pledge was taken by Captain RA Snuggs at the Defence Force Recruiting Centre, in Adelaide, on 16 January 1979. It is an important distinction, in our parliamentary democracies, that our military personnel have a duty to the sovereign, and the directions they get from the government of the day must be lawful and in her name.

It is worth noting another important role held by the Queen. Since 1952 she has also been head of the Commonwealth. I mentioned earlier that her father was the first head of the Commonwealth. It is an independent association of 53 states, many of which have their own monarchies or are republics, but all honour Queen Elizabeth as the head of the Commonwealth. Our Queen, all these decades later, still puts service ahead of self for 364 days out of each and every year. Daily, Her Majesty dutifully deals with official papers from the British government and from the governments of Australia and the other 14 countries of which she is head of state. Indeed, she only gives herself Christmas Day off. The royal engagements are unceasing and Her Majesty continues to apply herself to them with gusto. It is worth noting the current generation of the royal family. I will quote from her grandson Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, who praised his grandmother recently. He said:

… I am privileged to witness the private side of the Queen as a grandmother and a great-grandmother. The Queen's kindness … her innate sense of calm and perspective, and her love of family and home are all attributes I experience first-hand.

He goes on to say:

All of us who will inherit the legacy of my grandmother's reign and generation need to do all we can to celebrate and learn from her story. Speaking for myself, I am privileged to have the Queen as a model for a life of service to the public.

I just say in concluding: well said, Prince William. Many of us in Australia join you in paying tribute to the Queen of Australia and thank Her Majesty for her record of duty and service.