Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the following address to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second be agreed to—

"YOUR MAJESTY:

We, the President and Members of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Australia, received with great sorrow the news of the death of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. On behalf of the Australian people, we express deep sympathy to Your Majesty and other members of the Royal Family, and give thanks for a remarkable life dedicated to service, duty, support and his family."

His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, earned the admiration of generations through a life committed to selfless public service that stretched across the better part of a century. He lived a long and full life, only retiring from public duties in 2017 at the age of 96. When asked to reflect upon his contribution to public life, Prince Philip responded with trademark honesty:

I've just done what I think is my best. Some people think it's all right. Some don't. What can you do? I can't change my way of doing things. It's part of my style. It's just too bad, they'll have to lump it.

It was the authenticity of Prince Philip that captured the attention and left an impression upon many. As the Prime Minister has remarked, he was part of a generation that we will never see again: a generation that defied tyranny and worked to build a liberal world order, holding up and protecting the freedoms we enjoy today. Prince Philip is remembered for his distinguished naval service in the Second World War as well as his unwavering support for the Queen as the longest-serving consort in history.

Prince Philip's life was nothing short of extraordinary, from the earliest days of his disrupted and at times challenging childhood through to when, upon finishing his schooling in Scotland in 1938—in the run-up to the start of the Second World War, where young Philip began his naval career—he was accepted into the Britannia Royal Naval College at the age of 17. Prince Philip thrived at the naval college, finishing top of his class. It was here that a young Princess Elizabeth fell in love with him when he escorted her and her sister, Princess Margaret, during a tour of the college in 1939.

Prince Philip rose through the ranks, becoming one of the youngest officers in the Navy to be made first lieutenant and second in command of a ship, HMS Wallace, at the age of just 21. It was in 1941, serving on HMS Valiant based in Alexandria, that Prince Philip was mentioned in dispatches for his actions during the Battle of Cape Matapan after spotting an unexpected enemy vessel in the searchlights. He continued to serve his country for the rest of his life, maintaining a keen interest in the military and furthering his own training, even earning his flying wings. After the war, a 1946 letter from Prince Philip to then Princess Elizabeth revealed an ardent young man with a new sense of purpose. It said:

To have been spared in the war and seen victory, to have been given the chance to rest and to re-adjust myself, to have fallen in love completely and unreservedly, makes all one's personal and even the world's troubles seem small and petty.

His words embodied the tone of what would become a life of unswerving devotion.

On return to the UK in 1946, Prince Philip went to ask King George VI for Princess Elizabeth's hand in marriage. In 1947, the then Lieutenant Mountbatten married Princess Elizabeth, who became Queen just five years later. At her coronation in June 1953, Prince Philip swore to be Her Majesty's 'liege man of life and limb,' as he gave up his active military career to be the Queen's consort. Prince Philip was in fact the first subject to pay homage to his newly crowned Queen. The story goes that he would later, following the coronation, ask his wife in private whilst she was still weighed down by her regalia, 'Where did you get that hat?' He was a man with good humour and an unmistakably authentic approach about him.

He took on the role of consort in a posture of humility, always putting the needs of his spouse above his own, allowing her to shine, always one pace behind. In describing her husband on the occasion of their golden wedding anniversary, Her Majesty described the Duke of Edinburgh as her 'strength and stay'—a simple statement that captured the essence and significance of his role as her consort.

Their marriage would span an extraordinary 73 years. In 1956, Prince Philip launched the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, a youth awards program inspiring teenagers to challenge themselves physically and mentally and build their confidence through non-academic activities. The award was introduced to Australia in 1959 and has since developed and grown internationally, now reaching young people in more than 130 countries, with over eight million young people having participated worldwide on the last count. This includes over 775,000 young Australians who have participated in and benefited from the opportunities created by the Duke of Edinburgh's Awards.

Prince Philip led a life of strong advocacy for scientific and technical innovation and for wildlife protection and conservation. He was the patron or president of more than 750 organisations. Sixty years ago, in 1961, the Duke of Edinburgh helped found the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, and two years later in 1963 on a visit to Australia he floated the idea of a local branch of the World Wildlife Fund. In fact it was from this suggestion by Prince Philip that led to the foundation of the Australian Conservation Foundation in 1965. Prince Philip was the foundation's president, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature's president, from 1971 to 1976 and was very passionate about environmental issues, including in Australia. He spoke to a number of issues, from endangered species to the protection of the Great Barrier Reef.

True to form, Prince Philip also acted in typical blunt style to urge the federal government in 1973 to act on protecting Kakadu by declaring it a special reserve. In a letter to former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam about environmental issues, he described the issue as 'probably the hottest of the potatoes'. He was a friend to Australia and passionate about protecting Australia's unique natural beauty and wildlife. But, more than that, he had a genuine interest in and compassion for the people of Australia.

Prince Philip made 22 tours to Australia. He was the royal representative who opened the Melbourne Olympics in 1956. From his first visit to Australia as a young sailor aboard the battleship HMS Ramillies to his final tour in 2011, Prince Philip had an informality that endeared him to Australia. In December 1945 he spoke of his love for our country, the people and the food, reflecting then that, on his visit to Australia, he enjoyed the week in Tasmania best. It was reported that one of the many things Prince Philip had in common with Australians was a love of beer.

It was fitting that, on his 1967 visit, when Prince Philip toured the bushfire ravaged Tasmania, he visited the Longley Hotel to enjoy a beer with the locals. He met some of those who were badly affected in the township of Snug, south of Hobart, where 11 people had, tragically, lost their lives in the fires. He also on that occasion visited Taroona, Kingston and Margate. Prince Philip was mobbed every time he stepped out of his car during his tour of fire affected areas of southern Tasmania, notwithstanding the tragedy and devastation those communities had endured. His informality and natural disposition towards the people of Tasmania placed him well as a comforter in a time of need, as it did in many other circumstances across the Commonwealth of Nations. He cared deeply for Australia—its natural beauty, wildlife, welfare and people—and Australians cared deeply for and respected Prince Philip.

Prince Philip will be missed by all who knew him, met him or respected him from afar, but of course none more so than Her Majesty and their family. Today we give thanks for the sacrifices he made and the good that he did in the service of our nation and of free peoples across the world. We place on record our sincere gratitude for the service Prince Philip gave to the Commonwealth and extend our sincerest condolences to Her Majesty the Queen and to Prince Philip's family in their time of grief. I thank the Senate.