King Charles III caught up in Senate squabble over replacing mentions of Queen…see more

King Charles III caught up in Senate squabble over replacing mentions of Queen Elizabeth, two years after her death

A legislative logjam has claimed its latest victim: King Charles III.

Two years after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Australia has yet to formally replace references to her in 29 pieces of legislation.

References to “Her Majesty” and “the Queen”, as well as some outdated references to “the King”, are on the chopping block in a bill that is yet to be passed.

Gender-neutral term “the Sovereign” is contained in the bill, which has been sitting dormant in the Senate for 10 months.

The government argues the move is pretty uncontroversial and is designed to save a fresh crop of MPs from having the same argument when Prince William ascends to the throne, questioning why the Coalition couldn’t get on board.

But the opposition claims the whole thing is a bit “ridiculous”.

“[It] is simply a solution to a problem that does not exist,” Liberal senator James McGrath told the ABC.

When the bill was first introduced last October, the Coalition insisted it could not support it unless it received assurance the change had the support of the king, or his representative in Canberra, the governor-general.

Since then, Sam Mostyn has taken over the mantle as governor-general, and the government insists she has been briefed about the “routine” adjustment.

But Senator McGrath says the Coalition is standing firm.

“To replace references to ‘Her Majesty’ or ‘the King’ with ‘the Sovereign’ without any intention of consulting the GG until the bill reaches its Royal Assent is disrespectful,” he said.

Both the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory self-governing legislation are included in the list of laws needing amendment.

Included in those laws are the oaths members must give when sworn into parliament, which have an explicit mention of the Queen.

The NT held an election just two weeks ago, and an ACT poll looms large for Canberrans in the coming month.

But Assistant Minister Patrick Gorman batted away any concerns elected members would have to make a pledge of allegiance to a deceased monarch, even if the clean-up legislation was still lagging in the Senate.

“Section 16 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 operates to the effect that existing references to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in Commonwealth Acts are construed as references to the present sovereign, His Majesty King Charles III,” he told the ABC.

Clock ticking on Labor’s agenda
Labor made some progress on its legislative to-do list in the last sitting week of parliament, crossing off major reforms to curb the growth of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and strengthening penalties targeting the creation and non-consensual sharing of deepfake porn.

A deal on aged care reforms, which would include plans for older Australians to pay more for care, is inching closer and could be announced as early as this week.

But elsewhere, proposals remain stuck in the mud and Labor is facing an uphill battle to win over support for key reforms.

But the promised Help to Buy scheme, where the government would co-purchase homes with 40,000 first home buyers, a new environment protection watchdog, and the Future Made in Australia investment scheme are struggling to find friends in either the Coalition of the Greens.

The bill to tidy up mentions of the Crown is listed for debate on Monday.