EDDIE WILLIAMS, HOST: Now the biggest event in the world this Saturday is obviously the Lake Argyle swim. But one of the other major happenings will be in the UK with the coronation of King Charles III. And when the King walks down the aisle – I actually don't know if you walk down the aisle for your coronation, but anyway, when he fronts up at the coronation this weekend, I wonder what will be on his mind. Well, perhaps he'll be reflecting on life lessons that he took from a 1970s trip to Paraburdoo, or from another visit to a working sheep station in rural WA. WA Federal MP Patrick Gorman is the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, which sort of makes him the Minister for the coronation. And he says that the new King brings a particularly strong history with the north of the state, which he's encouraging Western Australians to reflect on this week.
PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: I think what we've seen from King Charles is that he has links all over Australia, but if you look at his time as a Prince, he spent quite a bit of time in the north of our state. If I go through the list, he's been to Broome, Port Hedland, Kew, Paraburdoo, Kununurra, Karatha and then down to Meekathara and Coodardy. This is someone who spent quite a bit of time for someone based on the other side of the world, quite a bit of time in our state. And as he has his coronation this Saturday, no Head of State for Australia has come to the Crown knowing as much about our state, and in particular the north of Western Australia, as King Charles III.
WILLIAMS: It's interesting because I guess somewhere like Broome is such a prominent tourist destination. Kununurra as well. Karratha and Hedland are the engine rooms of the economy, but Paraburdoo and Meekathara not necessarily on a lot of people's itineraries.
GORMAN: Well, with Paraburdoo, I think the story of his visit to Paraburdoo in particular is quite interesting. He had been to see the mining operations in action, which he was very keen to do back in 1979 on a tour of the 150th anniversary of the settlement of the Swan River Colony. But what we saw was he actually was given the opportunity to jump behind the wheel of a truck and most people who visit are a little bit hesitant to do that. But he didn't hesitate at all, jumped in the truck, drove off, they couldn't see him. He eventually came back, and as a result he was given an honorary, although not legal, truck driver's licence on the occasion.
WILLIAMS: That could come in handy. That could come in handy. Are there some other stories like that that have stood out to you from looking back at the history?
GORMAN: I think the other one is that he went to Coodardy station, where he had said specifically that he was interested in visiting a sheep station and actually seeing in action how that all comes together. And he spent four nights there and he reflected afterwards that it was one of the highlights of that trip for him. And again, I see that that sort of speaks to this desire from someone who could be doing a whole range of things with their time, to have authentic experiences and use them to add to that lifetime of service that comes from being a member of the Royal family. It is something quite unique. But I do think, again, King Charles III, when we sit and watch either the entirety of that coronation event or just the clips as they come through on the news, I think Western Australians will, many of them who've seen him on his visits, will sort of go, yeah, he spent a bit of time here, and that's a good thing. And there is that unique connection.
WILLIAMS: Do you think that adds to his experience or to his understanding as he now takes on this role as the Head of State?
GORMAN: Well, as I said, no one has come to this role with a greater understanding of Australia than King Charles III. If you think about the fact that Queen Elizabeth II was the first monarch ever to visit Australia when she did that back in 1954, and so as a result, he comes with a great understanding of this country. And I think I'm sure your listeners over the next few days will be dialling in with memories of either seeing the Prince, as he then was, on his visits, or maybe even ideas about what he might do should he choose to visit again once the coronation has concluded.
WILLIAMS: And I guess it feels quite far away, the coronation happening over in the UK. You're this week highlighting some of those connections that the King has to regional Australia and particularly regional WA. What are you hoping people will think about this week in the lead up to the coronation?
GORMAN: I think it's an opportunity for us all to learn a little bit more about the reality of Australia's constitutional arrangements. I always reference the fact that as a member of the Australian Parliament, we swear allegiance to the Queen or the now King. It's important that we recognise that the constitutional monarchy arrangements that Australia has are the arrangements that we have in 2023. And so we're going to have a lot of conversations about Australia's constitution. But I think the best thing for people to be able engage in those in a mature and thoughtful way is to actually recognise what is in that document that actually governs how we work. And whether you be a Republican as I am, or a monarchist or indifferent, I think there's something in the life of King Charles III. You can see a lifetime of service, someone who's actually accepted that their role in life is to go and serve others and to inspire others. And I think of the Paraburdoo Fire Brigade who formed a guard of honour for him way back in 1979. I think that would have been an important moment for them and would have inspired them to continue to do their work in protecting people from the dangers of out of control fires. So, I think every Australian could learn something out of this moment and it's something that we've never seen before. This is the first time it's going to be broadcast live. Bear in mind that the great Australian Broadcasting Corporation didn't even have a television service back in 1953, when Queen Elizabeth II was coronated. So, this is a first in many respects and I think people have a range of different reflections.
WILLIAMS: Prince William earlier in the year was on a phone hookup with a number of people in different areas affected by flood and natural disaster, including health services in Fitzroy Crossing, and he indicated he wanted to come and meet all the people individually. Have you got any inside word on future royal visits?
GORMAN: The royal family are always welcome in Australia. We have said previously we are hopeful of a visit from the Prince and Princess of Wales. That video zoom moment was quite touching, I thought. Incredibly thoughtful from the Prince. It is common and traditional that after a coronation that the newly crowned King or Queen would do a tour of the Commonwealth realms. So, we are hopeful that that visit will happen at some point in the not too distant future. And, of course, that invitation is always there, as the Prime Minister made very clear when he was in London in September last year. All I'd say is I'd encourage people to take this opportunity to learn more about Australia's constitution. We're going to have a big conversation about Australia's constitution and our future later this year. What we've seen this year, through this coronation process is a reflection of sorts of our history and our historical ties to the United Kingdom and that situation we have as a constitutional monarchy. But we've got an opportunity this year, as Australians, to write a bit of our future about what we want. And I think there's an opportunity for many as we sort of think about what this means for our constitution and what this means for Australia to also think about, well, what do we want for the future? And one of the big things I want for the future is to make sure that we do have that constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament that deals with some of the far less acceptable parts of Australia's history. That forges a new way forward and so I just take that opportunity, to encourage all of your listeners to take the opportunity, as we talk about sort of Australia's history, to also think to our future.
WILLIAMS: Patrick Gorman, a Federal MP from Western Australia. He's the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, speaking ahead of the coronation this weekend. Perhaps you have a memory of Charles visiting the north of WA. You can call 1302 42675. Anne from Kununurra, what story do you remember?
ANNE FROM KUNUNURRA: Well, my husband, then fiancé, Keith, was a counsellor then and he met Prince Charles when he visited Kununurra and anyway, back in those days Keith had a beard and Charles said to him do the flies get caught in your beard?