Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan)
Incorporated pursuant to order of Council of 7 September 2021:
I rise to pay my respects and recognise the significant contribution made by Queen Elizabeth II in seven decades as head of state of Australia and this state, Victoria.
I, like most Australians, have known no other head of state.
Queen Elizabeth was a patron of more than 600 organisations and served them commendably.
She had dignity and grace in office and great strength of character, which meant for many Australians that being a republican and an Elizabethan were not mutually exclusive things.
Queen Elizabeth respected the self-determination of the Australian people, backing the right of Australians to become a fully independent nation during the referendum on an Australian republic, saying at that time she ‘always made it clear that the future of the monarchy in Australia is an issue for the Australian people and them alone to decide, by democratic and constitutional means’.
I am saddened by the news of Queen Elizabeth’s passing and express my gratitude for her service to the Commonwealth.
