Key Points
- Federal MPs have used a condolence motion to the late Queen Elizabeth II to declare Australia must become a republic.
- Indigenous members of parliament have also spoken of the range of emotions experienced following the Queen's death.
Federal parliamentarians have used a condolence motion to the late Queen Elizabeth II to declare , with the Greens saying the country must now "grow up and move out".
Greens leader Adam Bandt said the death of the Queen and should lead to talks on changing the system of government.
"Now we have a king. We did not elect this man. Nor did we as a people truly consent to be governed by him. We have, respectfully, unfinished business," he told parliament.
"The head of state of this country should be chosen by the people, for the people, and from the people.
"We should respect the civility with which Elizabeth Windsor oversaw the draw-down of what was once the British Empire and take the cue to grow up and move out."
Mr Bandt said people could share their sympathy about the death of the Queen and have conversations about whether a constitutional monarchy was right for Australia.
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young expressed her condolences to the royal family, but said now was the time to move forward with an Australian head of state.
"King Charles III is not our choice. The Australian people didn't get to choose and we should have," she told the Senate.
"Our head of state should be one of us, an Australian."
The Australian Republic Movement has reinvigorated its campaign following the Queen's funeral and the national memorial service for the late monarch.
The movement's chair Peter FitzSimons said the country should no longer delay talks about moving away from the monarchy.
"Rule by birthright, a literally born-to-rule English sovereign, has no place in a democratic, egalitarian Australia," he said on Friday.
"The notion is as foreign to Australian values as the monarchy itself. Nor should anyone be forced to pledge allegiance to a foreign king or head of state."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has repeatedly said since the Queen's death that it's too soon to discuss Australia becoming a republic.
On Friday, he said it was hard to grasp that the Queen "belongs to the realm of memory" after her seven-decade reign.
"She was a rare and reassuring constant amidst rapid change," he told parliament.
Mr Albanese also offered condolences to King Charles III.
"At the dawn of his reign, we wish His Majesty well," he said.
Monarchy's legacy 'painful reminder' of colonisation's impact
Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney, a Wiradjuri woman, offered her condolences to the late Queen's family on Friday, while acknowledging there had been a range of emotions among First Nations people following her death.
"For many Indigenous Australians, the legacy of the monarchy is fraught - a complex, difficult and painful reminder of the impact of colonisation," she told parliament.
"This week has seen many wrestling with the swirling emotions ... but equally there are many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that have respect for the Queen.
"The Queen's relationship with Indigenous Australians reflects both how far we have come and how far we still have to go."
Greens senator Dorinda Cox, a Yamatji-Noongar woman, echoed that message.
"Amongst these are the feelings of anger to stress, hurt, and frustration by First Nations people who, unfortunately, their sorry business does not end today," she said.
"We are a mature nation, people will have conversations that both commemorate the life of a public figure while calling out the problematic legacy of the British Empire."
Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy says her family has reflected since the Queen's death on what the world of colonialism has meant to them. Source: AAP / MICK TSIKAS
"We reflected on what the monarchy has meant, and what the world of colonialism has meant ... and know deeply, the pain (of) the Frontier Wars and the conflicts that came with that," she said.
"Maybe the Queen was not directly responsible for that, but we know these are the mixed feelings and emotions of so many across the globe in the Commonwealth lands for First Nations people."
