Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the National Party in the Senate, I rise to associate our senators with the remarks of the parties of government to mark the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of King Charles III. We send our deep condolences and sincere condolences to Her Majesty's family. She was our monarch and Australia's head of state for 70 of our nation's 121 years of federation. On reflection, I want to thank the Prime Minister of our country, for the way—despite his being a deep and committed republican—he has represented our nation not just here at home but also overseas, and for the way he has comforted citizens and subjects who are deeply mourning the loss of the Queen. I want to quote some of his empathetic remarks:

From the moment the young princess became Queen, Her Majesty's dedication to duty and service over self were the hallmarks of her reign. Performing her duty with fidelity, integrity and respect for everyone she met. … Queen Elizabeth II was a wise and enduring presence in our national life.

Similarly, I acknowledge the remarks of the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Dutton. When we were at the memorial service yesterday, we heard three amazing contributions: from our Governor-General, calling on us to continue sincerely the journey of reconciliation as a country, and also from our Prime Minister and Mr Dutton. He made this remark:

Despite her royalty, she possessed extraordinary humility, greeting all those she met with courtesy, treating them as equals and offering an attentive ear.

The adjectives around our monarch on her passing have, I think, given all of us pause for reflection, as leaders within our own political parties and within our own communities, on her servant approach. I know that I personally—and I hope I speak for all of us—want to take a bit more of her in our everyday going about our business and the example she gave us. It has been acknowledged that our Queen was devoted to duty and that her public commitment was unwavering. Family and faith were important to her, and her sense of commitment and dedication to her position as monarch was absolute. No matter what was thrown at her, she nurtured the monarchy through times of change and the many emotional challenges that most families have to go through.

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born on 21 April 1926 in London. She was the eldest daughter of Prince Albert, Duke of York, and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. As the child of the youngest son of the then King George V, she would have thought she had little prospect of ascending one day to the Crown. She went off and married that very handsome Prince Philip, who was the love of her life and who she is now reunited with, and had four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward. Obviously, the health of King George VI entered a serious decline in the summer of 1951, and Princess Elizabeth represented him at the Trooping of the Colour and on various other state occasions. Princess Elizabeth and the duke were on tour in Australia and New Zealand when, en route to Kenya, news reached them of the king's death on 6 February 1952.

Elizabeth was only 25 when the news came and she was now Queen. Her coronation was held at Westminster Abbey in 1953, on 2 June, and the following year the royal couple left for an extensive tour of the Commonwealth, including Australia. It was the first visit to Australia by a reigning monarch. She has been a regular visitor to Australia throughout her reign—16 visits. The Queen has celebrated all aspects of culture and life from sheep farms to natural wonders such as the Great Barrier Reef, from the triumph of Olympic and Commonwealth sporting meetings to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, culture and tradition.

The Queen was known to favour simplicity in court life, and was also known to take a serious and informed interest in government business aside from traditional ceremonial duties. The Queen's visits to Australia incorporated significant ceremonial events, including the opening of federal parliament in 1974, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 1981, and Australia's bicentenary celebrations and the opening of this building in 1988, where her speech, I think, still speaks to us:

Parliamentary democracy is a compelling ideal, but it is a fragile institution. It cannot be imposed and it is only too easily destroyed. It needs the positive dedication of the people as a whole, and of their elected representatives, to make it work.

This is surely one of the characteristics that has attracted so many people to come to Australia from countries which do not enjoy the benefits of a parliamentary system in such large measure. This includes being part of a constitutional monarchy where our head of state is above politics. I think we've seen the constancy of the Crown on display over the last two weeks. We saw our now King, Charles III, take on royal duties, and we saw the new Prince of Wales and his young son and heir, Prince George, attend his grandmother's funeral.

The Queen was the only female member of the royal family to have entered the armed forces and served in World War II. As a woman in leadership, I admire her ability to role model. Decades before it was popular or accepted for women to be having very serious conversations with very serious men about affairs of state, this was a young woman whose servant leadership, and the fact that she actually joined the armed forces despite being a member of the royal family, showed that she didn't see gender as a barrier to what her role modelling was going to be.

The royal visit of 1954—and a big shout-out to my mum, who was one of those baby boomers on the side of a road somewhere in a country town waving a flag for the Queen—was probably the most popular of all royal visits. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh undertook a tour of all of our states and territories, arriving in Sydney Harbour. I think they travelled 2,000 miles by road—130 hours in motorcars—visiting 70 country towns and making 100 public speeches. If that's a work ethic that we senators could adopt and apply to our work, I think maybe our institution would be a lot more popular, a little like the monarchy is at the moment. After the vastness of the tour by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in 1954, then Prime Minister Menzies thought that we needed less formal tours going forward, and that is absolutely what occurred. In 1973 the Queen opened the landmark Sydney Opera House, and in 1977 Australia also featured prominently in the Silver Jubilee celebrations.

Her last visit was in 2011. A reception in the great hall was part of the tour, which ended with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth. There are many of us here today who were at that particular event. Prime Minister Gillard was ushering Her Majesty through the great hall. I was a very new senator; I think I must have only been here about three or four months. I'd brought my royalist mother up for the occasion as well, who was breathless just looking at it all. I lined up. The Leader of the National Party then was Warren Truss. He said: 'Bridget, we're going to have an afternoon tea with Her Majesty at Government House on the weekend. You get to the front of the queue, so you get to meet her.' I thought, 'Oh, okay!'

The Prime Minister is introducing her to each person. I'd practised my curtsy to every MP, and I could see poor Prime Minister Gillard's face when she suddenly saw this new female senator and had no idea who I was. I see her face; she's thinking that she's going to have to do something terrible. Anyway, Prime Minister Gillard said, 'Your Majesty, the Leader of the National Party, Warren Truss'—who was about 10 rows deep in the bleachers. Warren got to the front and he knew what his duty was; he was going to assist the Prime Minister with introducing the newest National Party senator, Bridget McKenzie from the great state of Victoria—he probably didn't add 'great'! I did my curtsy and then Her Majesty said to me, 'How new is new?' She was just gorgeous, all silvery and, as everybody who has met her has said, genuine, warm and accommodating. Everyone who knew her has commented on her humour as well.

The Queen was aware of the modern role of monarchy—for example, allowing the televising of the royal family's domestic life and condoning the dissolution of her sister's marriage. She commented on 1992 being a very troubling year for her family—not just as a monarch but as a family. She was very pragmatic; in that year there was also resentment with a recession in Britain, and she pragmatically decided to pay taxes on her private income, making sure the monarchy was not just seen to be believed but also relatable to everyday Australians.

The Queen stood out and became the first British monarch to visit the Irish Republic and to set foot in Ireland since 1911. She continued to approach every engagement with vigour and spirit, fulfilling her duty with dedication and dignity. But one of the things I really enjoyed about Her Majesty was that she was a countrywoman at heart. She was never happier than when she was at Balmoral, riding her horse well into her 90s—that is no easy task, as anybody that's ridden a horse before knows—pursuing farming interests, enjoying hunting et cetera. In fact, we corresponded about my concerns that the RSPCA—a royal society, no less—was seeking to shut down horse racing, to make changes to farming practices and to stop hunting. Her Majesty, who enjoyed all three of those pursuits, encouraged me to continue to pursue the RSPCA. She brought her horseback riding talents to her role as monarch as she trooped the colour as well. She loved a horse race; it was great to see some of our great Australian trainers attend her funeral on our behalf.

Whether it be her Christmas messages, the Trooping of the Colour or seeing her on our shores, Queen Elizabeth has been a significant part of our nation's story for 70 years. Popular, measured and much loved, she lived a long and fruitful life. She will be remembered as a dedicated public servant and an adored daughter, wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She refused to slow down. I think that photo of her swearing in the latest Prime Minister, Liz Truss, is just fabulous—her eyes twinkling, her mouth smiling, only to be taken from us two days later.

As a party that is over a century old, the National Party in its own constitution has objects which require it to promote within Australia a society based on Christian ethics and loyalty to the Crown. We are, I would say, the only political party in this place that still holds those tenets to our core. The Queen's passing saw an outpouring of grief as silent crowds gathered to pay their respects to our sovereign—a wonderful example of servant leadership. Her faith as the head of the Church of England was clear and unambiguous, and I think you saw a service which she had so much input into which really made Christianity accessible to the millions of people of all faiths and many of no faith. It saw Christianity on display in a way that a lot of people can relate to.

There will be questions following the Queen's death around our constitutional arrangements over the coming period. Our Constitution is one of the six oldest continually operating in the world. No country should alter its constitutional arrangements if they work well simply because of where a sovereign resides. For a long time, governors-general and governors in Australia have been Australians. We should not dismiss constitutional monarchy simply because it is seen as unfashionable by some in society or because the popular media are going through a phase of disaffection with some members of the royal family, who, earlier, they covered with fawning attention. It is also important to emphasise that, in every legal respect, Australia is a completely independent country, as was finally affirmed when the Queen of Australia personally assented to the Australia Act in 1986.

The constancy of the Crown is on display. The National Party offer our deepest sympathies to the royal family and to subjects right throughout the Commonwealth. May we in this place seek to emulate her example in service to others, in service to our nation and her ferocious work ethic, sense of duty, humility, quiet courage, on behalf the people who also sent us here. Rest in peace, Your Majesty; long live the King.