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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-05-08 Daily Xml
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Royal Visit

Mr ODENWALDER (Little Para) (14:26): My question is to the Deputy Premier. Can the Deputy Premier advise the house about the recent visit to Adelaide and, indeed, Elizabeth, by Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge?

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Minister for Industrial Relations) (14:26): Can I thank the member for Little Para for this very important question. Can I point out to the house that the royal couple came all the way to Australia and then came all the way to Adelaide and then went specifically to the honourable member's electorate. What an honour it is that they selected his electorate, of all places.

Mrs Vlahos: And they flew into mine.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Yes, the member for Taylor's electorate was where the plane landed. Can I also make the point, and honourable members may not be aware of this, that the several hours—three or more hours—spent predominantly in the member for Little Para's electorate is three-and-something more hours than they spent in the city of Melbourne. I think that shows a great deal of confidence in the northern suburbs of Adelaide. Anyway, it was a magnificent day.

On Wednesday 23 April, Adelaide (and, in particular, the honourable member's electorate) hosted Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as part of their visit to Australia. It is estimated that some 20,000-odd people lined the streets for their visit to the northern suburbs of Adelaide, waving as they drove past—although His Excellency the Governor and I thought, for a moment, that it might have been for us. It wasn't.

I was pleased to meet them on their arrival at the Edinburgh RAAF base, along with His Excellency the Governor, Liz Scarce, Air Commodore Noel Derwort and his wife Pauline Koitka. A guard of honour saluted Their Royal Highnesses as the vehicles left the RAAF base, and they drove to their first stop at Northern Sound System and the Skate Park (which I know is an area with which the honourable member is most familiar).

Once there, six-year-old Lauren Stephenson presented Her Royal Highness with a posy and, equally importantly, they were met by my colleague the Minister for Health and the Minister for the Arts who, I am told, enjoyed a very lengthy conversation with the Duchess about young Prince George. The Advertiser reported that she was most taken with him, which is significant because I spent some time with her and apparently she wasn't taken with me at all.

Can I mention also that the Mayor of the City of Playford, Mr Docherty, looked resplendent in his mayoral finery, including a very large chain and gold medal of substantial proportion. I could not help thinking that he was quietly thanking the member for Newland for making it possible for him to be in attendance on that occasion. As some wit remarked, 'They did but see him passing by.'

In any event, at the Northern Sound System Their Highnesses were shown how to DJ, and they both stepped up behind the decks to give it a go. It was reported Her Royal Highness was a natural, where His Highness could perhaps improve with a little more practice. A number of groups then performed for Their Royal Highnesses, including the Remedy Break Dancers, Rainbow Vox Choral Group, ART Indigenous Group and N1 Electro Rapper. I am led to understand that the Minister for the Arts was also tempted but did not participate.

Their Royal Highnesses then had a private meeting with a group of disadvantaged young people, and they heard about their experiences. They were very impressed with the group and, indeed, they stayed much longer than was expected. Next was a function at the civic centre, where Their Royal Highnesses arrived to chants of, 'We want Kate'. There was much greeting of people. I am conscious of the time, and I do not want anyone to miss this, but if I can have an extension of time I will talk about the Leader of the Opposition's meeting with Her Royal Highness.

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