We have our own unique identity and culture. And I think it’s time that we start the serious conversation once again about what comes next for Australia after Queen Elizabeth’s reign ends. ‘But Australians are now beginning to start to think about what comes next for our country. ‘As the Queen comes to the twilight of her reign, we can appropriately – and we should - pay respect to her for the wonderful job that she’s done,’ Mr Thistlethwaite said. Matt Thistlethwaite was sworn in by the newly elected Labor government as assistant minister for the republic on the eve of the Jubilee and said the occasion gave Australians food for thought about the country’s future.

However, the praise came days after he appointed the country’s first minister tasked with overseeing a transition to a republic – raising the prospect of the Queen no longer being head of state. ‘She had a cheeky smile… and was so down to earth and so lovely.’ More: Queen's Platinum Jubilee I love that she’s cheeky,’ Dr Nour added. The six of us, we’re pretty lucky and it’s something I’ll remember forever.’ She was so lovely and what a huge honour to be able to represent the whole of Australia. ‘I came across a man who was having a seizure at Waterloo, just outside of the train station,’ he explained.įollowing the call, the 2022 Australians of the Year marvelled to ABC News over the Queen’s ‘cheeky’ sense of humour and how ‘down to earth’ they found her. Platinum Junilee celebrations will continue this weekend (Picture: Getty)Īlso meeting the Queen was Young Australian of the Year, Dr Daniel Nour, 25, who founded a mobile medical service that provides GP-led, medical access to those who are experiencing homelessness and are vulnerable.ĭr Nour told the Queen he first had the idea for the service while studying at Imperial College London. ‘When I was a young kid I used to hate myself, Your Majesty, and… if I thought anybody in a wheelchair, let alone myself, could be Australian of the Year, I wouldn’t have believed you,’ Mr Alcott said. The tennis star became slightly emotional as he told the Queen about ‘the honour’ of being an advocate for people with a disability as Australian of the Year. ‘The reason I get out of bed every day is to change perceptions, so people with disability, people like me, can get out and live the lives they deserve to live,’ Mr Alcott added.

He joked that he ‘unfortunately won a couple of Wimbledon titles’, beating Great Britain’s players which she may not have been ‘so happy about’ – prompting laughter from the monarch. It was not clear if she knew that in the three decades since its creation, the feature – known as the Pool of Reflection – has become notorious in Canberra for causing such incidents.ĭylan Alcott – a four-time Paralympic gold-medal winner – was the first to introduce himself to the Queen, telling her that when he informed his mother he would be meeting the monarch she had burst into tears. ‘That little pond inside intrigued me very much indeed,’ she said, adding with a broad smile: ‘I wondered how many people had fallen in it.’ Sorry, this video isn't available any more.

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