Seymour DavidDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT): Thank you Mr Speaker. On behalf of the ACT Party members of this House I'd like to join with other leaders offering His Majesty my sincere condolences for the loss of his beloved mother Queen Elizabeth II. She was indeed widely loved for her grace calmness dedication and public service. Reigning as Queen for an extraordinary 70 years New Zealand and the entire Commonwealth have been so fortunate that Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor filled the role of Sovereign to all our countries. It is also clear that she had a special place in her heart for New Zealand. From her home in the United Kingdom we are the farthest country to visit in the entire Commonwealth yet she came here in 1953 almost as soon as she was coronated. She travelled to great extents. I remember growing up in Whangārei my grandma would point out to the balcony of the Grand Hotel on Bank Street where she had come to stand all those years ago. That Whangārei town was a town of less than 20000 people at that time but she made the effort. It might be easy for someone in a position such as hers not to make such an effort to travel to the farthest extents of the Commonwealth but in fact she came here 10 times during her reign. She always took her role as Queen of New Zealand seriously diligently and dutifully. She worked all the way up to within a day of her death. I did wonder if perhaps she was just holding on until her country was safe from Boris Johnson but I suspect it was more about her unending devotion to duty. It was her values that made her important. Her role required her to be reserved. She did not speak often—most of her activities were ceremonial—and yet she achieved powerful leadership through the example she set through her own behaviour and the well-measured words that she did use. My favourite quote from Queen Elizabeth II is one that I think is extremely valuable in the current cultural climate where people sometimes hesitate to express their feelings and in other times express more than is helpful. She said As we look for new answers in the modern age I for one prefer the tried and tested recipes like speaking well of each other and respecting different points of view; coming together to seek out the common ground; and never losing sight of the bigger picture." Those words are good advice in politics and in life.As we look around a troubled word today with conflict on a scale that we wished and we thought we'd left behind many decades ago the Queen's words are again helpful. During that first visit to New Zealand she championed peace and equality saying "the Commonwealth bears no resemblance to the Empires of the past. It is an entirely new conception [based] on the highest qualities of the spirit of [humanity]: friendship loyalty and the desire for freedom and peace." She went on to say "May brotherhood [and sisterhood] be furthered by all our thoughts and deeds from year to year. In pursuit of the supreme ideal the Commonwealth is moving steadily towards greater harmony between its many creeds colours and races". These words in many ways were ahead of their time and again are very useful words of advice in today's climate. They're just a few examples of how she used the few words that she did use to show true values that all people could live better by. They allowed her to reign through the most extraordinary changes throughout her time. She came to the Throne in a world of pencils and paper black and white TV and rotary telephones that were fixed to the wall. Her reign ended in a world with space exploration mobile phones and even TikTok. She was one of the first modern working mums part of a vanguard of women who ushered in a new age of equality and for all their novelty these changes were consistent with her timeless humanitarian values: that all people should be free and equal. Ironically as the pace of life accelerates timeless values of the kind she exhibited become more important and I think that's what she showed through her life. Now it turns to a new King of New Zealand and the Commonwealth to follow uphold and grow his mother's good examples. In this House we have great confidence in our new King Charles III. For one thing I can't think of many people who've spent longer preparing and auditioning for a role beginning the biggest job of his career at the ripe age of 75. I was lucky enough to meet our new King as Prince Charles several years ago. He was sincere and charming. He'd made an effort to have something specific to say to each and every person that was there in another country on the other side of the world from his home. I believe that sincere devotion shows he is his mother's son and he will bring the same devotion to sincere service in his role as King as she did in her role as Queen. It will be essential for him to resist the very tempting temptation to make political points from the Throne. It's one that we should watch but one that I'm sure he will resist for the good of the monarchy and our democracy.Again on behalf of ACT's members in this House it's with great sadness that we mourn the loss of a wonderful Queen and a wonderful life well lived and we set forth with great hope as we welcome King Charles III. Long live the King. Thank you Mr Speaker."