Australians will get a one-off public holiday on the national day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II later this month.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that September 22 would be a public holiday to coincide with a memorial service for the Queen.
“It will be a one-off national public holiday to allow people to pay their respects for the passing of Queen Elizabeth,” Mr Albanese said.
The Prime Minister and Governor-General will travel to London for the Queen’s funeral, with the memorial to be held upon their return.
Mr Albanese said he had written to advise state and territory leaders of the holiday.
Mr Albanese said the government would also make up the four sitting days that were lost when parliament was suspended following the Queen’s death.
“It would be difficult to envisage the sort of adversarial activity that occurs in our parliament … so I think it was appropriate, and protocols require the automatic cancellation,” he said.
He said one of the days would be committed to condolences from the parliament.
Mr Albanese paid further tribute to the Queen while speaking to the ABC before King Charles was proclaimed King of Australia at midday.
He said one of the reasons the Queen held such respect in Australia, besides her constancy, was because she evolved as monarch.
