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ahem .....
Queen signs; heavenly quartet plays aloft ….
Queen Elizabeth II has signed a charter calling for an end to discrimination across the Commonwealth to keep the group of nations "fit and agile".
The 86-year-old signed the Charter of the Commonwealth in Marlborough House in London as a heavenly quartet played on the landing above.
All Commonwealth nations adopted the 16-point charter in December 2012.
It aims to protect democracy, the rule of law, international security and free speech, and contains commitments to end discrimination.
"We are implacably opposed to all forms of discrimination, whether rooted in gender, race, colour, creed, political belief or other grounds," the document reads.
Such a pity that a symbolically atrocious venue was chosen, where there’s plenty of gilt but no guilt about how many Commonwealth countries don’t enjoy democracy, the rule of law and freedom of speech. http://tiny.cc/v4ettw
- By John Richardson at 30 Mar 2013 - 8:35am
- John Richardson's blog
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it's time...
The Queen has received a A$7 million pay rise.
Her yearly Sovereign Grant budget is now A$52 million, which will be spent on official royal duties, paying staff and maintaining palaces.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/drive/pay-rise-for-queen/4608134
meanwhile, where curtains fade one hour later...
Queensland has updated its royal succession laws, making sure they do not disrupt similar amendments around the Commonwealth.
The State Government has passed laws allowing a first-born female child to become heir and to allow royals to marry Roman Catholics.
British prime minister David Cameron asked all Commonwealth countries to update their laws, and the Australian Government wanted the states to refer to its amendments rather than passing their own.
The Federal Government wanted all states to refer their powers to a central piece of legislation, but Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie says Queensland preferred to make the change itself.
"The people of Queensland, indeed the people of all Her Majesty's dominions, await the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's first child, a child that will eventually take its place in the history of the English-speaking peoples," he said.
"And we are delighted that no matter whether this child is a boy or a girl, the child will be our future sovereign."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-02/queensland-puts-its-own-stamp-on-royal-succession/4665874
Roman Catholic? You mean all these religious wars were in vain? Time to have a republic....
On the same page, in banana bender country...:
TONY EASTLEY: Some Queensland public housing tenants are worried the cash-strapped State Government is considering selling their valuable inner city properties.
The Government has confirmed to AM it commissioned Ernst and Young to investigate options including selling public housing land for private development.
It says proceeds would go towards new public housing, but residents worry they'll be removed from their communities and medical services and sent to the city's outskirts.
Annie Guest reports from Brisbane.
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2013/s3749766.htm