Motions — Queen Elizabeth II—Longest-reigning British Monarch

I move that this House congratulate Her Majesty the Queen on the occasion of her becoming the—

💬 Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member just needs to seek leave to move the motion.

I seek leave to move a motion without notice that the House congratulate Her Majesty the Queen on the occasion of her becoming the longest-reigning British monarch.

💬 Mr SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that course of action being followed? There is none.

I move, That this House congratulate Her Majesty the Queen on the occasion of her becoming the longest-reigning British monarch. On 9 September 2015 Queen Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Previously, Queen Victoria held that record, reigning for 23,226 days—63 years and 7 months. Queen Elizabeth surpasses that record today. This is a significant moment for the Sovereign personally, and for Britain and the other 15 nations of the realm.

However, I would like to note that Her Majesty has already achieved the status of longest-reigning monarch of New Zealand. Queen Victoria’s reign over New Zealand began in 1840, later than her reign in Britain, which began in 1837. Queen Elizabeth surpassed her record as the longest-reigning monarch of New Zealand in 2012, the year of extended celebrations of the Queen’s diamond jubilee. When the Prince of Wales was here as part of the jubilee, he noted the fact that it was also the occasion of the Queen becoming New Zealand’s longest-reigning monarch.

To reign is also to serve, and the Queen is widely respected by monarchists and republicans alike as embodying a lifetime of service. She was only 25 years old when she ascended to the throne and became Queen of New Zealand. In her speech then, she promised to follow the example of service and devotion provided by her father, King George VI. She has certainly fulfilled that promise. Throughout more than six decades of extreme change, she has steadfastly served the people of her realm. I have had the honour of meeting Her Majesty on a number of occasions, and I know that she has a deep knowledge and interest in the history and affairs of New Zealand and cares sincerely for the welfare of this nation.

The Queen has asked for there to be no particular celebrations of this occasion, and for it to be treated reverently, out of respect for the memory of Queen Victoria and the other monarchs who have gone before. It is a normal working day for the Queen, another day in her lifetime of duty and service. So I will keep these comments brief and merely conclude by offering congratulations to the Queen both as Queen of New Zealand and as the longest-reigning British Monarch.

I rise to register my personal congratulations and the New Zealand Labour Party’s congratulations on Her Majesty’s achievement of this very fine milestone. For the record—and I do not want to embarrass the Acting Prime Minister on his numbers and his calculations—Her Majesty achieves this great milestone at 4.30 tomorrow morning New Zealand time, which raises the obvious question of why we have not had legislation in this House allowing Her Majesty’s loyal subjects in New Zealand to raise a glass of Pimm’s on licensed premises at that time so that we can all celebrate the very special occasion. I regard it as an epic fail on the part of the ardent monarchists in this House.

I do have a personal connection with Her Majesty, going back only a few years when I was at the ripe old age of 11 and she was on one of her 10 visits to New Zealand. She came to the bustling metropolis of New Plymouth. I was at intermediate school. We got the day off school and went down to the main road, Devon Street, as it then was, the main retail precinct—it still is; there are just not as many retailers there. She did one of her walkabouts. Having an eye for youthful talent, she came over and spoke to me. I was accompanied by two friends, one with the coincidentally apt name of Daryl Prince. So we had a conversation about what we were doing that day, and what have you. I did urge her that perhaps she would come back at some later date—very quickly, hopefully, because we all got a day off school that day.

Turning to a slightly more serious reflection, there are historians who say it is very easy to understand the Victorian age, representing Queen Victoria, the last longest-serving monarch. Time during her reign moved very slowly. The achievement of Elizabeth II is that she has reigned during one of the most rapidly changing and dynamic periods of world history. From Churchill to Cameron, from the Turing machine to Samsung 6, 7, or 8—or whatever it is—and from Elvis to Ed Sheeran, she has reigned during a time of great technological change, cultural change, and political change. And yet, after more than 63 years on the throne, the monarchy in Britain has never been more accepted, never been more secure, and never been more respected.

Every country, every people need their standard-bearer at times of mass celebration and mass grief—a person who can lead and reflect back the feelings and thoughts of a nation. Queen Elizabeth II has done just that, and she has done it in a humble and understated way. One of her great achievements is that she has imbued successive generations of the royal family with the same level of humility and public service.

I call in aid the words of our national anthem—or national dirge, as the case may be—and hope that the praises that are heard in this great House on behalf of our great people will be heard well and truly in the chambers and corridors of Buckingham Palace, or Sandringham, or Balmoral, as the case may be. Congratulations to Her Majesty.

It is my pleasure to speak on behalf of the Greens in recognising this remarkable milestone and to join with other parties in offering our congratulations and our good wishes. For over 63 years the monarchy has remained unchanged. It is one of the very few points of stability in an otherwise very fast-changing world. One could write a very long and learned dissertation on the changes in the world in the last 63 years—

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: Do it.

—and no doubt somebody will. For the moment I will constrain myself to commenting on just two matters, two indicators of change over that time.

One of those would be that a few hours ago in this House we passed a Treaty bill—one in a series of Treaty bills. With all of the settlement bills the text contains an acknowledgment and a very profound apology from the Crown for wrongs done to Māori in the past and for the ongoing ill effects of those misdeeds of the Crown and the Governments. I think that such an apology would have been inconceivable 63 years ago. I think we now recognise the importance of the Crown apology as a significant part of settling the disputes that do continue to linger in New Zealand and no doubt will for some wee while yet.

The other matter I will reflect on is the identity of our Governors-General over recent decades. Initially, and for many years in fact, they were typically a long line of British soldiers. In 1967 we saw our first New Zealand - born Governor-General, who was a military person, a doctor, and an athlete. In 1985 we had our first Governor-General of Māori descent representing the Queen in New Zealand. In 1990 there was a significant breakthrough. A woman took up that role of Governor-General, the Queen’s representative in New Zealand. In 2006 we had as Governor-General a New Zealand - born man, but of Indo-Fijian descent. And I think of course now of the incumbent Governor-General—again, somebody who proudly proclaims Māori heritage.

I think these differences do indicate that although we have had stability and continuity we have also had change, and I think it is incumbent on all of us to seek to find the right balance between stability and change in our work in this House. So enough from me. Again, I simply reiterate our congratulations and our good wishes. Kia ora.

It is with great pleasure that New Zealand First rises to congratulate our Sovereign, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, on a significant milestone in this second Elizabethan age. It is particularly satisfying for those of us in the New Zealand First caucus who are holders of a Queen’s commission. Her Majesty is, of course, the longest-ever reigning monarch of New Zealand, let alone the 15 other realms that proudly have her as their head of State. What is more, she is the sixth monarch of New Zealand since 1840, and it is perhaps fitting that she has now overtaken the first, Queen Victoria.

Although there are some in this House with republican ideals, we are proud that New Zealand First is not among them. In our offices we have posters of Her Majesty the Queen of New Zealand, for which we thank Monarchy New Zealand. The monarchy is as much about heart as it is about head. It gives us a sense of something much bigger than ourselves that we have links to—Richard the Lion-heart, Henry V, and, of course, the first Elizabethan Age, which is, in essence, the British component of our New Zealand whakapapa—which gives us a greater sense of history.

Her reign was spectacularly kicked off by the conquering of Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing. Sir Edmund Hillary is a person whom many republicans throughout New Zealand have always identified as being the only other person whom they would imagine being the head of State, should the Queen not be. Our Queen has served her countries with honour and distinction. She pledged so many years ago that, whether her life be long or short, she was committed to the service of her people. Thankfully, it has proved to be a long and full life, which began before the jet age, saw in the space age, and in this second Elizabethan age we have seen the advent of computing, the internet, and the nuclear age. It has been a reign of radical transformation.

Above all, her reign has seen 16 New Zealand Prime Ministers serve, from Sidney Holland to our current Prime Minister, and she will no doubt see the swearing-in of the 17th Prime Minister in 2017. This is perhaps the greatest thing about constitutional monarchy—that politicians and Prime Ministers come and go, but our monarch and monarchy are enduring. She offers us all lessons in commitment, stickability, service, and dignity. We are proud to honour our Queen today, and as a party we proudly say—in defiance of those who would seek to remove the Union Jack from our flag as a first step towards republicanism—God save the Queen.

Ā, tēnā koe, Mr Speaker, kia ora tātau katoa. I te tuatahi i roto i tōku ake Reo, me mihi rā ki a Kuini Irihāpeti kua eke ki tēnei taumata, ko ia arā te uri o Wikitōria! He aha te tikanga o Wikitōria ki tēnei rā? Ko ia Te Kuini i te wā i a ia i haina nei i Te Tiriti o Waitangi i te tau 1840 i te 6 o ngā rā o Hui-tanguru, arā, koi nā te here! He aha te here o tērā kaupapa ki tēnei rangi? Ā, i tēnei ata tonu nei i tae mai ngā iwi o Te Motu, o Te Tai Tokerau, o Tāmaki anō hoki ki konei whakarongo ai mō ngā take e pā ana ki Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Ka whai wāhi anō rā Te Ao Māori ki te kōrero mō te āhuatanga o tēnei mea o te haki e kōrerohia ake nei, kia whai wāhi tātau ki te kōrero mō te haki. Ko te kōrero mō te haki? E kōrero anō hoki mō tō tātau mana motuhake ā-whenua, ka mutu, he kōrero anō tērā mō tēnei mea e kī ana, ko te constitution. Nō reira, he aha te tikanga o te constitution? Te tikanga ia he kaupapa tērā hei here haere i a tātau kaua ki te whakawehewehe i a tātau, nō reira koinei tētahi kōrero hei whakatakoto ki mua i a tātau i tēnei rā!

[Thank you, Mr Speaker, and acknowledgments to us all. Firstly, I pay a tribute in my own language to Queen Elizabeth, who has reached this pinnacle; she is truly the relative of Queen Victoria! What does Victoria mean to this day? She was the ruling monarchy at this time when she signed the Treaty of Waitangi on 6 February 1840. That indeed is the link! And how does that link to this day? Well, tribes of the nation from the North, and Auckland as well, arrived this very morning to listen to matters pertaining to the Treaty of Waitangi.

Māoridom has an opportunity to talk about the situation relating to this flag thing and to discuss it. And what is there to talk about the flag? It is about our sovereignty in regard to land, and, furthermore, about this thing which is referred to as the constitution. So what is its meaning? Well, technically it is a way of binding us together as we go along but not dividing us, and so this is something to put before us today for consideration.]

The Māori Party is pleased to support the motion from the Acting Prime Minister and offers congratulations to Kuini Irihāpeti. I noted in my kōrero that she descends from Queen Victoria, and Queen Victoria is the person whom most Māori think about. When we think about Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria also comes to mind. The Treaty of Waitangi comes to mind because Kuini Wikitōria was a part of that Treaty negotiation and, of course, today in the House we had a lot of discussion and debate in respect of the shortcomings of various Governments over time and the Crown in maintaining the dignity and respect of our Treaty of Waitangi.

In talking about that, also we think about the notion of a flag being debated at present, because a flag is symbolic of a nation’s sovereignty and a part of that must be the discussion around a constitution. Therefore, today is pretty significant because Māori in a sense worry about that disconnection with England because of that relationship with the Treaty of Waitangi. Nevertheless, we understand the desire to stand firm and stand on our own two feet. In that regard, the one thing we can say about the rārangi kōrero—about the line of accession, I suppose—is that it brings us to today and, I hope, brings us together, as a constitution does. It is about bringing people together as opposed to our differences. Hopefully, that is what is symbolised today with Elizabeth’s reign and into the future. Kia ora tātou.

I want to join with other members in commemorating this unique occasion that sees Queen Elizabeth II become Britain’s longest-serving monarch, attaining some 63 years and 217 days since her accession in February 1952.

The Queen has exemplified the concept of service throughout her time in public life, and her humility and commitment have set standards that others would be well advised to follow. Although she may be an elderly woman now, she still reads her papers every day and, according to all of the speculation, is still up to a weekly encounter with her Prime Minister, the 11th of her reign, where she can test him on the current issues of the day and the way in which her Government is behaving.

She joins a very rare pantheon of rulers. Queen Victoria has been referred to—she is still a little way short of the last Austro-Hungarian Emperor, Franz Josef, who served approximately 68 years, but they all pale into insignificance behind Louis XIV of France, who was King for about 73 years. The Queen may well yet outlive them all.

I would like to join with other members in supporting the Acting Prime Minister’s motion to congratulate our Queen. I think we in New Zealand are very lucky to have an extremely stable and extremely efficient system of governance, and the Queen is an integral part of that. The performance of that system over a record of 63 years now is very much down to one individual who very much personifies the moniker “Our Gracious Queen”. Thank you.

Motion agreed to.