TRACY MCKELLIGOTT, PRESENTER: A very historic occasion yesterday, and sitting at that table was one of our very own Hunter MPs. It is Pat Conroy who is the Member for Shortland, Minister for Defence Industry, and Minister for International Development and the Pacific. Good morning and welcome Mr Conroy, how are you this morning?
PAT CONROY, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY AND MINISTER FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE PACIFIC: I am fine thank you, and you?
MCKELLIGOTT: I am great, thank you. It must have just been incredible yesterday to be sitting at that table when the quasi-Privy Council is basically what you guys became yesterday, that must have just been incredible.
CONROY: It was remarkable, I almost had to pinch myself. To be there for what was a once in a 70-year event which is the proclamation of a new Head of State for our country was indeed historic. So it was, I felt a bit strange to be honest, a bit out of place. I was sitting there sort of turning around saying ‘should I be here?’, but no it was a real privilege. It’s a real privilege to be a member of the Federal Executive Council as a Minister and secondly to be part of yesterday’s events.
MCKELLIGOTT: It must have just been amazing. So talk us through, what actually happened? Obviously you all had to go into the meeting room, what actually happened inside there?
CONROY: So the Governor-General was presented with papers basically noting that with the passing of Queen Elizabeth that automatically Prince Charles became King Charles III, and so he was effectively proclaiming that as King Charles III of Australia. So it was a very important event, and we were talking about the historic nature of it, in fact the Governor-General asked everyone to sign a document stating that we were there because it was so historic. And then photos were taken on the steps of Government House, and then we all went back to Parliament House, we had the sort of federation guard which is the ceremonial unit of the ADF march past, we had a Welcome to Country and the proclamation read out publicly by the Governor-General, the singing of ‘God Save the King’, and a 21-gun salute by the artillery.
So it was a lot of pomp and circumstance, but it’s very important. Obviously whether you’re a monarchist or a republican or nothing quite frankly, the proclamation of a new Head of State is very, very - well it’s very rare is probably the best way of saying it.
MCKELLIGOTT: Very rare, absolutely. Well the next time we will see it is when King Charles dies and it passes on to William. Hopefully it won’t be as long as this one, I don’t think he will spend 70 years on the throne for want of a better word. But it must have been strange - I haven’t had the chance to do it yet, but it must have been strange after all of these years because you’re very much like me, you’ve known no other Head of State other than the Queen and to sing ‘God Save the Queen’, that’s all we’ve ever sung. It must have been very strange to sing ‘God Save the King’.
CONROY: It was, although I must confess it’s not a song I’ve sung many times before, even ‘God Save the Queen’. But it was strange. It almost jarred being the first time we’ve done it. It was very unique, and as was on Saturday, I laid a wreath at the statue for Queen Elizabeth II which is in Parliament House, so the Prime Minister, the Governor-General, and a number of Ministers laid wreaths to mark the passing as well. So you can’t imbibe the historical nature for what’s occurred, and some people, I think even committed republicans would acknowledge Queen Elizabeth’s service to Australia and the Commonwealth and the importance of acknowledging and mourning that.
MCKELLIGOTT: Absolutely, and Anthony Albanese has been very clear in saying that now is not the time to talk of a republic, that that would not happen in his first term of government. Obviously you’ve been across those discussions as well?
CONROY: Absolutely, and we’ve made it very clear that our highest priority for constitutional reform is recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our Constitution, but we won’t even be talking about that at this stage because in the 15 days of mourning, we shouldn’t be talking about that these issues.
MCKELLIGOTT: No.
CONROY: But we’ve been very clear that now is not the time to talk about the republican debate. This is the time to reflect on the contribution of Queen Elizabeth to this nation. Like, she was our Head of State for 70 years.
MCKELLIGOTT: It’s a long time, Pat.
CONROY: It’s the longest in British and Commonwealth history, and it’s something that we should just take a little bit of time to reflect on. I know there’s a bit of debate about whether we should have a public holiday to mourn her passing, and I think it’s very important that we do that.
MCKELLIGOTT: Now obviously there’s a lot of protocol that goes around the death of a monarch. Obviously the biggest thing for us is the fact that Parliament will not sit for 15 days of mourning. Now that is protocol, isn’t it? That is part of our Constitution, part of our makeup, part of how we operate in this Westminster system. There is protocol that means we cannot sit for the next 15 days.
CONROY: Yes, that’s my understanding, and my understanding is that every Parliament in the Commonwealth has the same protocol applied. So it doesn’t matter whether you’re in Australia or New Zealand, you do not sit for the next 15 days, and I think that’s important because Parliament is a very political process. It’s actually a debate about ideas and laws, and that would be inappropriate at this stage. Prime Minister Albanese has indicated that we will lose four sitting days and we will look to see whether we can pick up those four days throughout the rest of the year as well so that we get our legislative agenda through in time. But it’s important just to take the time out and that applies to State Parliaments as well.
MCKELLIGOTT: Now Pat, obviously as Minister for Defence Industry and Minister for International Development and the Pacific, there’s going to be a lot of travel over the next week or so with people trying to get to the UK to, you know, participate in history, to either watch that funeral, watch the processions, try and see the Queen laying in state. What recommendations or what tips have you got for people if they are headed over to the UK?
CONROY: Well I think first off make sure that they’ve got a valid passport. I know that’s a simple one, but we’re dealing with this huge backlog of passport issue. So please, if you haven’t got a valid passport, you’ve probably run out of time but if you’re getting your passport processed and you’re still waiting for it, please contact your local MP to make sure that you can try and get that. And secondly, just because there’s going to be very significant disruption to services as large crowds gather to mourn the Queen, people need to think strongly about planning their journey. My information is there are already passenger and a number of other restrictions at Heathrow Airport, so make sure you talk to your airline and make sure you’ve got accommodation booked because obviously accommodation will be very tough to find. So I know these things all sound obvious, but often people get in a rush. So plan your journey, talk to your airline, and make sure you’ve got accommodation booked before you start thinking about this.
MCKELLIGOTT: On a personal note Pat, obviously we have past the hundred days of the new Government. How’s it feel so far to be sitting now on the side of Government, not on the side of Opposition, how’s it feel?
CONROY: Oh it’s a huge privilege, and being part of the Executive Council meeting yesterday was remarkable. I don’t want to get too political in this discussion, but I think I can say that being a Minister of the Crown, alongside representing the 150,000 people of Shortland, but being a Minister with responsibilities to the 25 million Australians with my policy areas is the greatest privilege of my life, and every day that responsibility bares on me and I never forget that it’s a privilege not a right, and every day I have to work hard to fulfil the trust that people have placed in me.
MCKELLIGOTT: Fantastic. It is lovely to have you as a Government Minister, that is wonderful for – it’s wonderful recognition for Newcastle and the Hunter over all of this time. It’s great to have so many Hunter Novocastrians sitting at those seats. You know, we’ve obviously got Sharon sitting in the Deputy Speaker’s seat. It’s just wonderful to have so many local people involved in Government.
CONROY: Yes, it’s a great opportunity for our region and one we shouldn’t take for granted, but it’s one where hopefully I can serve the people of the Hunter faithfully and make sure people have trust in us.
MCKELLIGOTT: Absolutely, look thank you so much for your time. I wanted to touch base because that was something very special yesterday, and it is going to be very interesting days ahead. We’ve obviously got 15 days of mourning, we have a public holiday coming up, and it’s just going to be interesting to see over the next few weeks, it’s going to be quite a fascinating time for the world.
CONROY: Oh absolutely, indeed.
MCKELLIGOTT: Thanks so much, we will chat again soon.
CONROY: Thank you for the opportunity, have a good day.