Dr David Lillis: Reflections on Reading of the Passing of Queen Elizabeth

The Legacies of Colonialism

Recently Dr. Don Brash (former New Zealand politician, former Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the New Zealand National Party, former Leader of ACT New Zealand and former Governor of the Reserve Bank) wrote an interesting piece on the passing of Queen Elizabeth, published in Breaking Views on 17 September (Brash, 2022). In his article Dr. Brash spoke positively of the Queen and of his interactions some years ago with Prince Charles, now King Charles III. 

On reflection (and, admittedly, not having met any of the Royal Family in person – like most of us!), I tend to agree with the positive views of Dr. Brash expressed within that article. I also agree with Dr. Brash that colonialism perpetrated some negatives to indigenous peoples but most of that lies centuries into the past and there were very significant positives too.

Don Brash: On the passing of the Queen

The following was written by Don Brash in his capacity as Trustee for Hobson's Pledge.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth has passed away, and the overwhelming majority of people in New Zealand mourn her passing.

Not, of course, because her death was unexpected, or a tragedy in the ordinary sense of that word: at the age of 96 and increasingly suffering “mobility issues”, she had outlived the great majority of her subjects by at least a decade and was able to perform her royal duties right up to the end. Not for her, prolonged physical incapacity or mental decline. Just hours before her passing, she asked Liz Truss, the new Leader of the Conservative Party, to form a new British Government.