Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister
TOM CONNELL, HOST: The PM has been grilled on his plans for a republic and also what’s going to happen over the next few days as we are still in a stage of mourning around the world and in Australia. Joining me live is Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, Patrick Gorman. Thanks very much for your time. What about your reflections, first of all, on Queen Elizabeth II, we’re sort of similar age and it just feels like she’s been there forever because for our lives she has.
PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: An extraordinary life of service and a life of service that wasn’t just in the United Kingdom. I think what we’ve seen indeed on your program and others is the impact she had on the lives of everyday Australians. I’ve really enjoyed going back through some of the history of her contribution to my city of Perth, my hometown, where she opened our Council House. She, of course, attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2011, which I had the fortune to work on, and just the massive logistics exercise that that was, where even in the official briefing notes I’ve received about that event, I understand 120,000 sausages on 100 barbecues for that big reception because of the number of people who wanted to meet Her Majesty at that event. It is a remarkable life and it could fill, as it has for days, newspapers on end reflecting on that service and just how much work she did across the Commonwealth. It is amazing.
CONNELL: Yeah. The history she was involved with. I mean, she was young and even volunteered during the Second World War, which an incredibly defining moment in our history, but obviously a long time ago now. The new king, King Charles III, you met him, I understand.
GORMAN: I met him when I was a student at Curtin University. I was surprised to receive the invite to meet then Prince Charles.
CONNELL: Up and coming student, were you?
GORMAN: I was kind of a low distinction level student.
CONNELL: Let anyone meet Charles, did they?
GORMAN: No, I was very fortunate to receive that invitation to meet him at a reception at Government House in 2005. And then some 17 years later, I was yesterday standing on the Great Veranda here at Parliament House as he was proclaimed King of Australia. And again, another life service and a life that has had a great interaction with Australia, in terms of he’s studied here, he has visited here many times, he has spoken of his love of Australia and his gratitude for the warmth that Australians have shown him on those visits.
CONNELL: It’s interesting, he has spent a lot of time here. He’s actually got a closer connection to us than the Queen does and his sons have a really close connection too. So, I know all the talks would have been of a dissipation, I suppose, of connection, and Australia is a very different place to when it was when the Queen took the throne. But do you think that the links will sort of emerge and be spoken up in the next few days. Are they being underestimated?
GORMAN: I think people will rightly start to think about, what does a new monarch mean for Australia? But what we have is a King who deeply understands Australia. He lived here as a student. He’s visited, I think, 16 times. Of course, I’m sure he will visit again in coming years as King of Australia. Everyone is waiting to see what type of a monarch he will be, how he will conduct his duties. Everyone who wears the crown conducts themselves in a different way. And, of course, we all, like the world and all parts of the Commonwealth Realms, wait to see how the King can choose to conduct his affairs. But, of course, at the moment, in this period of observance, most of the focus is rightly on the extraordinary life of Her Majesty.
CONNELL: The republic, the PM was asked about this. He was pretty brief. He said, look, not this term. Would it make sense to at least have it as the next term? Because you can’t put it off forever. And, as you say, Charles will begin his reign the longer he’s in it, the more people will get used to it and they’ll say, hey, the next Kin is William, we like him. And suddenly, the impetus that you thought would come for a republic has gone well.
GORMAN: It’s not a question of whether you like someone. We are a constitutional monarchy. That is our current state of affairs here in Australia. What the Prime Minister said very clearly is that our priority in this term, in terms of constitutional reform, is the Voice to Parliament and properly recognising the First Australians who have been here for 65,000 years in our nation’s founding document. That’s our priority. We are not engaging in the detailed debate about a Republic at this point in time. We don’t think that’s appropriate.
CONNELL: So on the Indigenous Voice in the Constitution, are you thinking that it’s not just one try and if that doesn’t work, then we’ll go into the Republic? Are you leaving this open because you might need two goes on it and you really want to get the Voice passed, even if it takes a couple of goes?
GORMAN: I think the history of referendums in Australia is quite clear that once the Australian people have made a decision, that is a final decision.
CONNELL: You wouldn’t roll out again three years later? It’s “let’s have one good go at it”.
GORMAN: I think I’d be a bit uncomfortable dealing with the hypotheticals that come with different referendum outcomes. We’re really focused in terms of the work that Minister Burney is doing and others on making sure that we set this up to be a successful referendum. Of course, there’ll be more detail. We probably won’t be putting a lot of that out over the next few weeks because there is an appropriate national focus.
CONNELL: Fair enough. What you alluded to there was in the past, you don’t have one go at it and try again the next term. You do as well as you can to make the case, get it right. And if people haven’t supported it, then, well, then you listen to the Australian people they haven’t supported it.
GORMAN: I think what we’ve said very clearly is, while there are a lot of questions that people have raised around the future of Australia’s constitution, we don’t seek to engage in those detailed debates right now. We’ve clearly articulated our priority when it comes to growing the Australian Constitution and that is getting in this term of Parliament, a Voice to Parliament enshrined in the Constitution. But the detailed debates that can wait for another day.
CONNELL: The public holiday, it’s getting a bit of a backlash from retailers who say they’ve sort of been hit hard enough and even doctors are saying cancelled appointments, cancelled surgeries in hospital, it’s not much notice. I get why there’s not much notice. But was that thought through?
GORMAN: As the Prime Minister outlined there was consultation with the Premiers and the Chief Ministers about this decision. They all agreed that this was the appropriate thing to do. We know that that National Day of Mourning will see millions of Australians want to engage in both the recognition of the event that we will do here at Parliament House at 11am that morning. But also where they may be able to show their respects in their respective states and territories. So there will be a range of events that will be laid out over the coming days. I think it’s appropriate that we have a public holiday for this very rare and very sombre occasion.
CONNELL: We’ll hear perhaps some more detail for the PM, as you can see on your screen there is coming up any moment. Patrick Gorman, thank you for your time.
GORMAN: Thank you very much, Tom.
