van de Molen TimTIM VAN DE MOLEN (National—Waikato): Thank you Mr Speaker. Look it's a privilege to take a call on the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day Bill—in its second reading now as we work to pass it through all stages under urgency to ensure that indeed it can be enacted in time for the public holiday on Monday 26 September to be observed.Now I've listened to this debate over the course of the evening and I've been impressed by and large with what has been a mainly respectful debate and an appropriate reflection and recognition and memorial actually of the service of Queen Elizabeth II.I just wanted to make a few comments in addition to that noting that we are supporting on this side of the House the bill as it progresses through. Because I think actually it is an appropriate opportunity for New Zealanders to have a specific day to acknowledge to reflect to share some memories and to I guess commemorate the life of our longest-serving monarch. Seventy years is a phenomenal achievement—longer than anyone in this House has been alive I believe.Rawiri Waititi: Not the Speaker.TIM VAN DE MOLEN: That's a rough call. So it is important that we do come together to acknowledge that and to think about what that might mean for us in our own lives in our families in our workplaces in our communities in our schools.Of course when we think about that—I do want to acknowledge that yes of course having a public holiday does have some impositions with it. When we think about that in the context of the business interruption specifically from the economic impact that aspect is of course a consideration. But I think the gravity of the situation—the importance of the lifelong service of Her Majesty—makes it appropriate that we do indeed acknowledge the occasion in that manner.You know over the course of the last few days I have spent some time travelling around my own electorate in the Waikato—as I always do—but asking the question specifically of some business owners. And I was really impressed by the willingness of business owners to acknowledge that this is indeed a momentous occasion and sharing anecdotes as we do between each other on reflections we may have had of Queen Elizabeth's life and her time as Queen of New Zealand. So I do accept that it does come at a cost; as a business owner myself I understand that. But on the balance of it it makes sense and is appropriate on this occasion.We ourselves will be having a State memorial service. I'll be travelling down to Wellington here for that and I look forward to joining many other parliamentarians and dignitaries to commemorate the life of Her Majesty. I just want to touch on a little bit of that because in the context of New Zealand with her as our Sovereign it doesn't take much for someone's life to have been touched or to have some connection to the Queen.For me personally there's just two aspects that I just wanted to share in my brief contribution. The first of those being the privilege to have served in the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment in the New Zealand Army. Obviously the New Zealand Army itself interestingly we have the Royal New Zealand Air Force but the army does not have the Royal" in front of it; however the infantry regiment does which is an unusual distinction most people might not have appreciated.But a real privilege to have served in Her Majesty's regard in uniform. Although there were many times out in the Waiōuru tussock when one did wonder perhaps at the sacrifice one was making but ultimately these are character-building moments and I'm sure character-building moments that Her Majesty would appreciate on her behalf.And the other one and one that I know was very close to the Queen's heart—as was military service of course and Mr Mark Mitchell mentioned that in his contribution: that the Queen had herself served in World War II as a diesel mechanic in the army and made a wonderful contribution there. I was really impressed at the ethos of service that has prevailed through her family over time. But the other aspect was agriculture. Agriculture has been a massive part of the Queen's life and she has been a very proud agricultural supporter. The Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand of course part of the royal agricultural societies of the Commonwealth. The Queen—on her first visit actually—partook in a visit to the Claudelands showgrounds in Hamilton and got a good understanding of how agriculture works in New Zealand.She's always been a strong supporter of that. So my connection with that—having spent some years in the Royal Ag Society as well as the Australasian Rural Ambassador one year—was a real privilege to have that connection as well. So I just want to finish on that note. We do support this it is an appropriate opportunity to acknowledge that service from Her Majesty. Thank you."