Anthony Albanese offers transport to Queen’s funeral to Pacific leaders

Anthony Albanese is offering to pick up and fly Pacific Island leaders so they can attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral next week.

Anthony Albanese. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Anthony Albanese is offering to pick up and fly Pacific Island leaders so they can attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral next week, as federal parliament prepares to pay tribute to the late 96-year-old monarch.

The Prime Minister announced on Monday the national memorial for the Queen would be held on Thursday, September 22, in parliament’s Great Hall.

Parliament will then be recalled the following day, with condolences to be moved by members and senators from 8am.

There will be three more sitting days pencilled in between September 26 and 28, which Mr Albanese said was “as early as possible” after commemorations for the Queen and the national day of mourning.

Parliament was scheduled to sit for four days this week but the sitting was suspended out of ­respect for the Queen.

“I, as Prime Minister, have followed the procedures that have been in place for a lot longer than I have been in place as prime minister,” Mr Albanese said.

“I think there is something to be said for a prime minister who follows tradition, who follows protocols and who follows order.

“We will have a first sitting the day after the national day of mourning. My advice is that is the earliest possible opportunity when it could occur.

“If the parliament was sitting this week, to do the counter­factual, the idea that we could be debating question time as usual, that we could be having the engagement as if it was business as usual is, I believe, not correct.”

Mr Albanese and Governor-General David Hurley will on Thursday night fly to the United Kingdom, where they will meet with King Charles III over the weekend and attend the Queen’s funeral on Monday before returning home on Wednesday.

The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Royal Australian Air Force are also working out how Australia can assist the leaders of Pacific Island Commonwealth countries to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.

“In some cases, it will require Australia to go to their countries in order to pick people up if that’s available,” Mr Albanese said.

“We want to make sure that no nation in our region, in the ­Pacific, as part of the Pacific ­family, is unable to attend the memorial service for Queen ­Elizabeth because of logistical concerns.

“We’re talking about, in some cases, very small island nations that in particular have a need for support. I had contact with Prime Minister (Jacinda) Ardern yesterday about New Zealand and the role that New Zealand are playing as well in providing some connections between people. It is important that we continue to provide whatever support that we do for the Pacific family.”

Heads of mission from Commonwealth countries will be hosted by Mr Albanese at The Lodge on Tuesday morning to commemorate the life and service of the Queen.

The Prime Minister refused to say on Monday if he would prioritise a referendum on Australia becoming a republic if he won a second term.

“My priority for this term is the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our Constitution, with a constitutionally recognised voice to parliament,” he said.

Mr Albanese will miss at least two sitting days from September 26 to attend former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s memorial service with John Howard, Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull.