Queen Elizabeth II

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:29): It is a great honour to rise today to pay special tribute to Her Majesty The Queen for celebrating her 90^th birthday this year. Queen Elizabeth II became queen on 6 February 1952 and was crowned on 2 June 1953. Queen Elizabeth II has been, since her accession in 1952, Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and head of the commonwealth. She is also queen of 12 commonwealth countries that have become independent since her accession.

At the wonderful age of 90, she is the world's oldest reigning monarch as well as Britain's longest-lived. In 2015, she surpassed the reign of her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, to become the longest reigning British monarch and the longest reigning queen and female head of state in world history.

There have been thousands of celebrations for the Queen's birthday around the world and in Australia. I had the greatest pleasure and honour to host a special afternoon tea in Parliament House to mark Her Majesty's 90^th birthday. I deliberately chose the date of 9 September 2016 to host the event because I wanted to make the event memorable for my guests.

The Queen's 90^th birthday event was held on the ninth day of the ninth month, which is September, of 2016, and also the numbers of the year 2016 add up to nine as well—so a triple nine for the 90^th. The number nine in Chinese culture symbolises longevity and I thought it was the most appropriate date for celebrating the Queen's 90^th birthday. For those who are interested in Western numerology, the deepest meaning of nine is that of service, humanitarian pursuits, altruism, philanthropy and sacred wisdom.

I am sure honourable members will agree with me that those words of service, humanitarian pursuits and philanthropy would fittingly describe the Queen's wonderful qualities because, as we know, she is one of the most recognised and respectable figures in the world.

For over 60 years, the Queen has reigned through war and hardship, turmoil and change. She serves her important role with great strength, compassion and dignity. I wish to thank all the guests, including recipients of the Order of Australia from the Queen's Birthday honours, who attended the afternoon tea I hosted here in Parliament House. The positive feedback and birthday messages to Her Majesty were meaningful and heartfelt.

I would also like to thank the parliamentary catering team, Creon and his team, and my staff, Haley Welch and Grace Paterson, for helping me organise the event. I would particularly like to thank the Hon. John Dawkins for joining me on the occasion, and I would like to especially thank Dr John Weste, the director of the parliamentary library, for his wonderful assistance in presenting key memorabilia pieces of the Queen at the afternoon tea event.

We used the Queen's birthday event to highlight our deep connection and the presence of the Queen throughout the Parliament House of South Australia. For example, there is the photo of the Queen and Prince Philip at the entrance of the Legislative Council chamber, highlighting the Queen opening the parliamentary session in 1954, and there is other memorabilia located in the Strangers' Dining Room, including a cabinet of the Queen's dining silverware that she used and dined with at the state banquet hosted by the then premier Sir Thomas Playford in 1954.

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: Great premier.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: Great premier, yes indeed. It was great working with John Weste leading up to the afternoon tea. I really want to thank him for his contribution towards making it very special and for showing some of the really rare pieces that he found. For instance, in his search he found some original architectural designs of Parliament House that he was able to show. The paper colour was all fading away, but he was able to have it restored and it was presented at the afternoon tea, which really made it very special.

It is, indeed, a great honour to use the 90^th birthday occasion to acknowledge the Queen's important role to the commonwealth, to Australia and to our state. The Queen has been a significant figure in shaping Australia, and is also a fantastic role model of strong leadership in our society. I wish to personally wish Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II a wonderful and joyous 90^th birthday.