With the death of Britain's longest-serving monarch and Australia's head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, on the 8th of September 2022, Australia has entered a mourning period. Parliament has been suspended for a fortnight, and will not sit as scheduled next week.
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN (1926 – 2022) - National Day of Mourning for Australia. The Prime Minister has announced a National Day of Mourning for Australia on Thursday 22 September 2022 for the late Sovereign, Elizabeth the Second.
Queen's memorial public holiday: what's open, closed and what to expect in Australia on national day of mourning. Australians have been given a one-off public holiday on Thursday as a national day of mourning to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Legally, there does not need to be anything done in Australia to result in the change from queen to king. That happens automatically as soon as a monarch dies. When Queen Elizabeth II died, Charles immediately became king of Australia.
Before that, the Queen's coffin will lie in state at Westminster Hall in London for four days, and members of the public will be allowed to visit. On the day of the funeral, schools and businesses will close, there will be a two-minute national silence, and the Stock Exchange will close.
Australian constitutional law provides that the person who is monarch of the United Kingdom is also the monarch of Australia. This is understood today to constitute a separate Australian monarchy, the monarch acting with regard to Australian affairs exclusively upon the advice of Australian ministers.
This festival of 150 years' so-called “progress” in Australia commemorates also 150 years of misery and degradation imposed upon the original native inhabitants by the white invaders of this country.
Flags will flown at half-mast for the 10 days, except on the day of Prince Charles' accession to the throne.
One day after the Queen's death, the Accession Council would meet at St James's Palace and Charles would be proclaimed king. Parliament would meet that evening when MPs would swear allegiance to Charles III and express condolences for the Queen's death. Most parliamentary activities would then be suspended for 10 days.
Although the national mourning period officially ends after the funeral, on Monday September 19, we should expect to still feel and see the effects for many days (if not weeks) afterwards.
The London Stock Exchange will be closed for at least the day of the Queen's funeral and possibly for several days after - which could potentially cost the economy billions. There should be no changes to travel as there is also no obligation to stop trains, planes and buses.
If Her Majesty dies during the night it is thought her death wil lnot be reported until 8am. Then her portrait will be displayed on TV along with the national anthem, as happened when Princess Diana tragically died in 1997. Other channels are not required to interrupt regular scheduling, but it is thought they will.
New South Wales
Thursday September 22, 2022 has been declared a public holiday in NSW by the Minister for Employee Relations Damien Tudehope under section 5 of the Public Holidays Act 2010. This means shops and retailers can trade as they normally would on other public holidays, such as Australia Day or New Year's Day.
Which state gets the most public holidays? According to the Fair Work Obudsman, the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria have the most public holidays in 2023, with both states marking a whopping 14 public holidays on their calendars.
We often refer to these days as public holidays. The official Day of National Mourning is on the day of the Queen's funeral, which is September 19th. Usually, this would be 10 days after the death.
In the 1860s, Victoria became the first state to pass laws authorising Aboriginal children to be removed from their parents. Similar policies were later adopted by other states and territories – and by the federal government when it was established in the 1900s.
William Cooper was a Yorta Yorta man from Victoria who was born on 18 December 1860. He was heralded as a hero and one of the earliest campaigners and activists for Aboriginal rights and justice in Australia's history.
In Australia, between 1910 and the 1970s*, governments, churches and welfare bodies forcibly removed many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. These children became known as the Stolen Generations.
We do not pay the Queen any money for her upkeep or even for her duties as Queen of Australia. We do pay a salary to the Governor-General and pay for the upkeep for the official residences.
The monarch remains constitutionally empowered to exercise the royal prerogative against the advice of the prime minister or the cabinet, but in practice would likely only do so in emergencies or where existing precedent does not adequately apply to the circumstances in question.
Does the British Royal Family own property outside the United Kingdom? Despite their vast property holdings, the royal family no longer own properties outside the United Kingdom.
All Australia Post offices will be closed as well as Service NSW branches. Banks, including the big four Commonwealth, Westpac, NAB, ANZ, among others will be shut all day. But supermarkets like Coles and Woolworths as well as Kmart and Bunnings will open for their usual hours.
Woolworths. Woolworths will keep most of its shops open across the country during the National Day of Mourning, with general trading hours unchanged in most states and territories, except for Western Australia and South Australia, which are subject to stricter public holiday trading hour laws.
Once the public holiday for the National Day of Mourning for Her Majesty the Queen is confirmed in each state or territory, normal public holiday rules and entitlements apply. Employees have a right to be away from work on a public holiday.
The pallbearers hail from the Queen's Company, the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards. 'It's their role to protect her body, both in life and in death, remaining in the Queen's Company until King Charles decides otherwise,' explained Major Adrian Weale to the PA.