People Banned from Jubilee Events

Issued on 31/5/22

The disgraceful act of a new government
The People Banned from Official Platinum Jubilee Events

Just days after taking the reins of power, the new Federal Government (through the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet) have prevented everyday Australians from attending the two main national celebrations of the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in Canberra.

On Tuesday 31 May 2022, the Australian Government's official Platinum Jubilee website was updated to say that Platinum Jubilee Beacon lighting ceremony, which commences official celebrations of The Queen's 70 years on the throne on Thursday 2 June, is "an official invitation only" event, meaning that only a select group of invited politicians and officials can attend.

This is an absolute disgrace. The Platinum Jubilee Beacon lighting ceremony is an outdoor event to be held in a large public space, [We presume the forecourt of Parliament House]. This was the setting for the Diamond Jubilee in 2012, which Prime Ministers Gillard and Abbott attended] meaning there can be no excuse for the public being excluded.

After all, Parliament House is supposed to be 'The People's House' where their government sits; a government in which The Queen is, in the words of former Prime Minister Julia Gillard "...a vital constitutional part, not a guest" (Speech by PM Julia Gillard, 20 October 2011 - see The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 October 2011, Queen welcomed to Parliament House (smh.com.au)

In an even more shameful move, the public have been prevented from attending the Aspen Island renaming ceremony on Saturday 4 June 2022, a ceremony at which the island on Lake Burley Griffin will be renamed Queen Elizabeth II Island and the Queen Elizabeth Water Gardens dedicated.

This will be the nation's most lasting tribute to a sovereign who has selflessly served the people of Australia for 70 long and eventful years, but politicians are preventing the people from taking part in the celebrations.

Given that the Island is an open-air venue with a great deal of space for members of the public to stand or sit, the fact that they are being denied access and ignored indicates where the sympathies of political elites and bureaucrats lie. On every one of her many visits to the nation's capital,

The Queen has been welcomed by thousands of eager well-wishers and admirers from all walks of life, including on Aspen Island itself: The Queen officially opened the National Carillon there on 26 April 1970.

All that the public will be able to witness are the RAAF planes flying over the Lake and a 21-gun salute firing in the distance; from the ceremonies and official events they are barred.

That the Australian people have been excluded at the last minute from celebrating their sovereign's Platinum Jubilee at the heart of these national events is shameful, and it is fervently hoped that the decision will be reversed and the events opened to the public.

Philip Benwell

National Chair
Australian Monarchist League