Yesterday this house mourned the death of His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh, and I want to add my comments to those that were made by the Acting Premier, the Leader of the National Party and the Leader of the Opposition. His Royal Highness led a very distinguished life in the service of the Crown, the commonwealth and indeed Australia. He had a long-term connection with Australia. His private secretary and great friend Mike Parker attended Xavier College in Kew and grew up in Kew. Mike’s sister Mary Fitzgerald is a friend of mine, and her husband, Paul, was an outstanding portrait artist who painted the Duke and indeed the Queen on a number of occasions. So the Duke’s connection to Melbourne, Victoria and Australia goes back many decades.
His connection to Kew through his great friend Mike Parker, who passed away 20 years ago, and his sister Mary Fitzgerald is profound, and Mary is still going very strong at 90 years of age. She lives in Deepdene. I extend my condolences to the royal family and to the Queen in particular at the passing of his Royal Highness the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. I think it was a poignant moment yesterday when this house in a bipartisan fashion recognised his service to the commonwealth and the Crown.