Bob Katter (Kennedy, Katter's Australian Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

(1) All references to the monarchy and or a British sovereign be omitted from all Acts listed in Schedule 1 and substituted with the words "Sovereign people of Australia".

When we come to this place, we take an oath of allegiance to a foreign monarch. I object to giving allegiance—and I have never, ever agreed to give allegiance—to a foreign monarch. I say my allegiance is to the sovereignty of the Australian people.

I got on a Qantas aeroplane yesterday and was told there were cookies. It might seem petty and ridiculous, but I said, 'What's that?' You get my point: they were biscuits. You may say that it doesn't matter, that it's silly and irrelevant, but I don't think it is. How do you explain that, when Australia was two weeks away from being invaded, our Army was in the Libyan desert—what the hell was it doing in the Libyan desert?—or protecting a port that had no ships in it? It was because we were doing what we were told by the big boys overseas. We were not acting in the Australian interest.

I don't know of any other country on earth, except New Zealand, that has a foreign monarch on its coins. The only two countries on earth that have no support levels for agriculture are Australia and New Zealand, and the only one that reduced dramatically was Canada. You can't look at that and not see the colonial spot marks; they're flashing neon lights. What other country in the world intends, by 2030, to get all of its electricity from China? What's wrong here? All of our petrol comes from overseas. It doesn't have to. It should all be Australian. But it's not. No matter where you look, you can see the signs that this is a country that really hasn't grown up.

Should Ralph Honner be on our coins? Ralph Honner was a man whose battalion, the 39th, saved Australia from invasion at enormous cost to themselves, with 780 going up the Kokoda and only 128 at roll call 2½ months later. Should he be on the coins, or should this person who lives in England be on the coins? Take a little bit of countenance here; he is on our coin as our monarch. Well, I don't want to be told what to do by some person who got there by hereditary means. I constantly quote Diana's brother on how that particular family got on the throne, but I haven't got time to go there today.

I would like to see Tubba Tre on our coins. He was the great leader of the Kalkadoons, who held the British intruders at bay for over 20 years. Should he be on our coins? He was a man who fought to stop intrusion into his country. Should Ralph Honner be on our coins? Or should it be some little fella from England who, as far as I can make out, has never worked in his life, never had a job in his life, never done anything to recommend himself for the position?

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! I remind the member for Kennedy, under standing order 88, to not speak disrespectfully about the monarch.

Bob Katter (Kennedy, Katter's Australian Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I take your point, and I won't continue along that vein, because it really didn't matter whether it was a lovely and wonderful person in that position or not. I mean, either you believe that all people are born free and equal or you don't—and if you put a monarch on your coin, it means you don't.

Every country on Earth that I know of, whether it's France, the United States, Japan or wherever, has the sovereignty of their people in their constitution. We have in our constitution that we should swear our allegiance to a foreign monarch. Those of you who read history books will know—and I don't want to get carried away with myself, but I did have a moderately bestselling history of Australia!—that you really should have democracy. It's really wonderful that the Americans start off their constitution the way they do— (Time expired)

Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

While I do agree that the member for Kennedy has a moderately bestselling book on Australian history, the government does not agree with him on this particular—

Bob Katter (Kennedy, Katter's Australian Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'll send you a copy!

Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have a copy. But the government will not be supporting this amendment. Thank you.

Bob Katter (Kennedy, Katter's Australian Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A point of order, Mr Speaker: would the government at a future time consider some changes here?

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That's not a point of order, but the member is entitled to give a statement, and through the consideration in detail he's done that. The assistant minister has the call.

Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government's view is that this bill is of an administrative nature that reflects the change that has occurred in Australia following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and the ascension of King Charles III. We think other discussions could happen in other places, but this bill is of a purely administrative nature, and I'd urge all members to support it.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the amendment be agreed to.

Question negatived.

The question now is that this bill be agreed to.

Question agreed to.

Bill agreed to.