Australian Parliament rewrites the rulebook with huge move on Queen Elizabeth II
Parliament has returned with big changes to the way the government conducts its business, including a new change to how it references the royals.
The way that the parliament goes about its work in the House of Representatives is governed by “standing orders”. Now, those orders have been amended to remove all references to Queen Elizabeth II – even though it’s been almost three years since the Queen’s death.
As the British monarch is Australia’s head of state, they are mentioned alongside their representative, the Governor-General, in the standing orders.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Labor minister and leader of the House Tony Burke moved an amendment to the standing orders on Wednesday morning that would replace mentions of Queen Elizabeth II with King Charles III.
The Queen was referenced at least 15 times in the standing orders, but all of those mentions will now be taken over by her successor.
Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022, aged 96.
Liberal Party manager of opposition business Alex Hawke accepted the change but said he was “reluctant” to do so.
“I will say upfront as a lifelong constitutional monarchist and a great supporter of our constitutional monarchy and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, we are still in my view in the official mourning period,” Mr Hawke said.
“We do accept, reluctantly, the changes to remove all references to the Queen from the standing orders and replace them with the sovereign.”
He called it a “reluctant but necessary change”.
Other changes to standing orders include how long parliamentarians can be ejected from the house and how votes are recorded.
Originally published as Australian government’s huge move on Queen Elizabeth II
