Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Hansard source

Senators, we have witnessed a remarkable reign historic in its length, notable for its grace and nobility. Fifteen days ago, we were met with the saddest of news, of the passing of our late monarch, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. It's been a time of conflicting emotions: profound grief for our loss but an equal measure of gratitude for her love and service, given until the very end of her life. Her presence gifted us with familiarity and unity in good times and bad. Our Queen believed in our community and common decency, which mirrored her own. Above all else, she embodied devotion to service above self. It was the living fulfilment of a promise made to the Commonwealth in 1947 and mentioned many times today. At a service to celebrate the Queen's life in Perth's St George's Cathedral this week, it was highlighted that the promise concluded with the prayerful commitment, 'God help me to make good my vow.' There is no doubt that is exactly what happened.

Queen Elizabeth II was not a queen above us but a queen among us. From the moment she set foot on Australian soil in February 1954, a lifelong bond was formed. In his opening to these condolences, Senator Farrell noted that Her Majesty liked and trusted us. We liked and trusted her too. Her death has been greatly felt in my home state of Western Australia. The Queen visited Australia 16 times during her 70 years on the throne, and eight of those visits included Western Australia. The late Queen's visit coincided with a polio outbreak in Perth. Like the recent pandemic, it required enforced social distancing. Events were cancelled or held outdoors, and the shaking of hands was forbidden. But the Queen came, and Western Australians loved her for it. She visited Western Australia again in 1963, 1974, 1981, 1988, 1992 and 2000, and she was warmly received on each occasion.

In October 2011, aged 85, and having just attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, the Queen was hosted by almost 120,000 Western Australians at the Big Aussie BBQ on Perth's Esplanade. The enjoyment of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh was palpable. It was that occasion in Perth, a grand and warm farewell, that marked her last day in Western Australia and Australia.

The West Australian newspaper has given Western Australians an opportunity to express in their own words tributes to our Queen this week. Ann Jones wrote:

A very special lady who did her duty right to the end, as she always said she would. Rest In peace with your prince.

Margaret Forbes shared:

Remembering an amazing human being who, throughout her long life, was true to the promise she made as a young woman. She served with grace and dignity.

They are emblematic of the affections held by many, many Western Australians.

As the Good Book tells us, there is a time to mourn and a time to dance. Our sorrow now gives way to optimism and eventually celebration. In London and then here in Canberra we witnessed the proclamation of a new sovereign, His Majesty King Charles III. We look forward to the coronation of him and the Queen Consort. The new King's great strength, in addition to his personal qualities, is his unmatched apprenticeship for this role. We have seen and respected the way he and his wife took on many of Queen Elizabeth's duties in recent months and the support they gave her following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh. Over time, he will no doubt successfully marry the well-established traditions of his mother with his own style. The new king will be a king for our times, in the same way the Queen was for hers. To borrow some lines from a famous anthem:

Thy choicest gifts in store

On him be pleased to pour

The long reign and even the passing of our late Queen has showcased the virtues of constitutional monarchy. It is marked here by a distinctly Australian character, and it will be its Australian characteristics that will sustain it for many years to come. The Crown continues to evolve in a way that keeps it central to our lives. I believe, for example, that it can be a conduit through which greater reconciliation can be achieved, rather than being a barrier to it. Above all, constitutional monarchy matters not because of the power it wields, but the power that it denies. As she sailed away from Fremantle in the royal yacht Gothic at the end of her 1954 tour, the Queen broadcast a message to Australians in which she said:

… it has demonstrated that the Crown is a human link between all the people who owe allegiance to me, an allegiance of mutual love and respect and never of compulsion.

This is what it was. This is what it remained for seven decades. Our late Queen would be humbled and deeply appreciative of our mourning for the end of her reign, but she put enormous value on the power and stability of continuity. She would expect us to embrace this new era, and all it promises, with confidence and faith. So, may God save the King.

Question agreed to, honourable senators joining in a moment of silence.