Ms O’CONNOR (Clark – Leader of the Greens) – Mr Speaker, I rise on behalf of the Tasmanian Greens to warmly acknowledge the coronation of King Charles III.
There were great celebrations in the United Kingdom over the weekend as people celebrated the coronation of the monarch of the Commonwealth of 15 nations, King Charles III. So, England has a new king, the king of 15 nations of the Commonwealth.
I acknowledge in front of the Aboriginal flag of Tasmania, the Tasmanian flag, and the Australian flag that Tasmanian Aboriginal people are still suffering to this day because of the displacement and dispossession that happened in the Crown’s name. I also acknowledge the devastating impact of colonialism on peoples across the world. Jamaica, one of the nations of the Commonwealth, is now following the coronation of King Charles III, actively discussing also becoming a republic, as we should too.
The world is a very different place from what it was when the much beloved and highly respected Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in June 1953. It was just eight years after the war’s end. Peace and democracy seemed to have been restored, at a brutal cost but restored nonetheless, and there was great hope across the democratic world. We believed that fascism had been defeated on the European continent. So, we thought. But today – and I am sure King Charles III, who is a very intelligent and empathetic man, is aware, the forces of the right are on the rise again in the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom and here too.
In 1953, when Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne, the carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere sat at around 300 parts per million. Today, as King Charles III ascends to the throne, they are at 450 parts per million and rising rapidly. While I am an avowed republican and a proud Australian, what I do love about King Charles III is his passion for nature and his commitment to a safe climate for all the peoples of the world. I appreciate his great love of plants and wild creatures, and his thoughtful, empathetic words about the fate of the world and the importance of looking after nature.
There was some commentary following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II that perhaps the then Prince Charles, when he became King Charles III, would speak less of his concern for nature and the need for action on climate change. I hope he ignores those calls because it is unarguable that King Charles III, as Prince Charles, was one of the most outspoken leaders on the need to take climate action in the world. While there might be some concern at Buckingham Palace that to speak up on the need for a safe climate risks King Charles III entering the political fray. It is equally a political act to stay silent in the face of accelerating global heating and the impact that has, particularly on people in developing nations but people all over the world. I implore King Charles III to continue to speak up strongly for climate action and the protection of nature and biodiversity. I mean, what are they going to do if he steps out of line on this? They cannot sack him.
There was a number of arrests in London on the day of the coronation. While I did not watch the entirety of the coronation, I did follow snippets of it and followed it on social media. I was confronted by the reflexive authoritarianism of those arrests. We had people in London peacefully protesting for a republic, peacefully protesting for England to feed and home its poor, and they were bundled up and arrested. There was no chaos or riots; just people standing there in silent protest at the coronation of the King, and they were arrested. That is a vey worrying development.
Back in 1953 when Queen Elizabeth was crowned, most people, in the developed world at least, had a job, they could dream of owning their own home, and they had some real hope for the future of this planet. Today, King Charles III is dealing with a world where predator capitalism is out of control, we have raging inequality which is causing civil unrest and distress, and governments that have been captured by corporations at the expense of the public interest. So, of course, when people around the world and people who are poor looked at the glitz, gold and jewels on display on Saturday, they felt a deep and burning sense of injustice and unfairness. Those feelings are reasonable.
My mother once had the great delight of sitting next to a much younger Prince Charles at a diplomatic dinner in Tokyo, where my father was a journalist for the ABC. The way that my mother described Prince Charles as thoughtful, intelligent, entertaining and charming influenced the way I always saw Prince Charles too. She said he was a truly delightful man. Although he did not look stoked with the proceedings on Saturday, I do feel, given his empathy, that he is a delightful human being in many ways.
On the motion that we are discussing today, it is fulsome in the truest sense of the word. While it was tempting to amend the motion to bring it into the modern world, I thought that might be churlish. However, I pledge my allegiance to Tasmania and its people, to the sovereign nation of Australia, of which I am a proud citizen, and I pledge my allegiance to democracy and the principles of the Westminster system that underpin our democracy.
Long live King Charles III and his great love and queen, Queen Camilla. But also, long live the dream of an Australian republic.
