Mr HOWARD (Prime Minister)(2.00 p.m.) —I move:

That an address to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in the following terms be agreed to:

YOUR MAJESTY:

We, the Speaker and members of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia in Parliament assembled, have received with profound sorrow the news of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. On behalf of the Australian people, we express deep sympathy to Your Majesty and other members of the Royal Family, especially Their Royal Highnesses, Prince William of Wales and Prince Henry of Wales, and we mourn the loss sustained by so many people.

The news of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in such harrowing circumstances yesterday was one of those events that can fairly be said to have grabbed the attention, in a profound way, of the entire world, not only because of the news coverage extended but also because of the suddenness of and the shock that always accompanies such events, emphasised by the very public character of the life of the person involved and the particularly distressing circumstances of her death.

I know that the thoughts and, indeed, the prayers of many Australians went immediately to her two sons, William and Harry. The loss of a mother for two boys aged 15 and 12—whoever the people involved and whatever the circumstances—is always a situation of particular sadness and grief. Their grief will not be entirely private because of the very public character of their lives and those of both their parents.

The death of the Princess of Wales has gripped the attention of the world in a way which makes us reflect for a moment on the continued force of the human personality in a world that is meant to be becoming increasingly depersonalised. Our responses to and the emotions caused by these tragic events have absolutely nothing to do with the attitudes we may have about the role of the monarchy or the royal family in our society. Those things do not belong to this condolence motion or to the reactions of the Australian people to these events. I hope that we react like men and women who share the emotions, as best they can, not only of their own circumstances but also of others.

Diana, Princess of Wales, was a beautiful, stylish woman. Of that there is no doubt. But she was more than that. She was one of those people who managed, through a combination of circumstances, to fascinate and interest millions of people around the world.

Diana was only 36 at her death, and she leaves, as we all know, two sons. She was a person who, in her relatively short life, experienced what many would regard as both the highs and lows of the ultimate as far as public life is concerned. I doubt that there is a woman in the world who was more talked about or reported on in recent years than the late Princess of Wales. I doubt that there has been a marriage in recent years whose disintegration was more public and more reported upon than that of Diana and Prince Charles. That adds all the more to the poignancy of the feelings we have for her two sons.

Diana demonstrated a commitment to many worthwhile causes. One of the things which gave her a particular appeal to people right across the social spectrum was the spontaneity of her involvement in so many causes. Her appeal was not an elitist appeal—although she undoubtedly did appeal to many people who might regard themselves as elite—but it had its greatest force amongst the mainstream of not only the British community but, I dare say, the communities of Australia, the United States, France and many other nations of the world. The outpouring of emotion and sadness from so many people within the mainstream of our society and other societies is a testament to that.

Diana's spontaneous commitment to the campaign against landmines, her very early disavowal of some of the myths of association with people who had AIDS, her ready embrace of the cause and the interests of people who suffered such debilitating diseases as leprosy and her constant involvement with charities involved in the care and nurture of children all stamped her as a person willing to associate with those less fortunate in our community.

Some may say that, whatever the circumstances of her life, particularly over the last 16 years, she certainly did not live in straitened circumstances. That is undeniably the case. It is also undeniably the case that many who live in relatively equally comfortable circumstances do not have the commitment that Diana demonstrated to those sorts of causes.

Diana was welcomed many times to Australia. The four-week royal tour of Australia in 1983 broke with tradition when the infant Prince William accompanied his mother and father. The Prince and Princess of Wales also visited in Australia in 1985, going to both Canberra and Melbourne. They came again in 1988 to celebrate the bicentenary and they handed over Britain's gift to Australia, the sail training ship, the Young Endeavour. They joined our Australia Day celebrations and took the salute from the parade of the Tall Ships in Sydney Harbour.

Many will remember Diana's last visit to Australia in November last year to attend a charity event for the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute—ironically, in memory of a man who had given so much to Australia and to the world and who also died in very sad and tragic circumstances. At that time she took in a visit to the research institute, St Vincent's Hospital, the Sacred Heart Hospice, a charity lunch for the Commonwealth Day Council and the Royal Rehabilitation Centre at Ryde.

Many Australians will remember the images of her embracing people suffering illness and many will remember how she was reunited with Ben Robertson, aged 18, who had struck up a friendship with her some years ago when his father worked as her equerry on a previous royal tour to Australia. Ben had become a quadriplegic the previous June after injuring his spinal cord in a rugby match.

As I have mentioned, she was patron to a variety of charitable causes. As well as those associated with AIDS, antipersonnel mines and leprosy, the causes included charities helping people suffering blindness, deafness, cancer, Parkinson's disease, lung disease, nervous diseases and meningitis.

It is a very sad event for her family and for many people around the world. It reminds all of us of the fragility of life. It reminds all of us that, no matter what our presumed lofty station in life and whatever our financial and other circumstances may be, it is a very fragile existence. It is an event that has stopped the world; it is an event of very great sadness. I want on behalf of the government—and I know these sentiments will be shared by the opposition—to convey particularly to her two young sons and to other members of the royal family the deep sorrow of the Australian people.

Diana was a person that did capture our imagination. It was not only her style and beauty but also her spontaneity, her friendliness, her warmth and her capacity to evoke—particularly in the young in our community—the image of a warm and modern woman. People will remember her in different ways. Many Australians who met her on her frequent visits to this country will remember her with very great affection and will want to be associated with the sentiments that are being expressed here today.

Mr Speaker, can I simply say that, on behalf of all of my colleagues on the government side, we mourn this tragic event. We feel for and we pray for her two young sons left so bereft by this tragic accident.