Australian PM Defends Protocol to Bar Parliamentary Sitting for 15 Days to Commiserate Queen's Death

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday defended a longstanding parliamentary protocol which bars the sitting of the federal Parliament for 15 days in the event of the death of the British monarch, who is Australia's head of state.

“I think there is something to be said for a Prime Minister who follows tradition, who follows protocols and who follows order. That is something that I have done to define my Prime Ministership – respect for those traditions, that is what I have done,” Albanese said during a press conference at the Parliament House in Canberra, when asked by a journalist whether it was “peculiar” that the British Parliament continues to function normally while the Australian legislature has gone into an immediate recess.

The death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8 triggered a parliamentary protocol which hadn't been invoked since 1952, when the late British monarch ascended the throne. The protocol has been invoked only twice since the Australian parliament started holding regular sessions in 1901, when the country formally became a federation.

Albanese said that the Parliament will reconvene on September 23, when a condolence motion on the Queen’s death will be moved by himself as the leader of the house.

The Prime Minister has also announced a one-off public holiday on September 22, which will be observed as a ‘National Day of Mourning’.

Albanese has said that he would attend the Queen’s funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 19.

He underlined during the press conference that a “very large number” of people across major Australian cities back King Charles as the new sovereign monarch.

Charles III was proclaimed Australia’s new monarch on Sunday by Governor General David Hurley, who presided over a 21-gun salute to mark the occasion. Similar pageantries were also observed in New Zealand.

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Albanese has also dismissed suggestions to hold a referendum to replace the British monarch with an Australian head of state in the near future, saying that his priority in the current term is to recognize Australia’s indigenous people in the Constitution.

“I have been clearer before the election, on election night, since the election, that my priority for this term is the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our Constitution, with a constitutionally recognized Voice to Parliament,” said the PM.

However, Albanese called for another referendum again in 2018 while he was in opposition. After coming to power in May this year, Albanese even created a new cabinet portfolio of "assistant minister of the republic."

A popular referendum called in 1999 to replace the British sovereign with an Australian head of state by then-Prime Minister John Howard saw monarchists prevail over the Republicans.