Multicultural and diverse communities have called for an end to coverage commemorating the death of Queen Elizabeth, describing it as “excessive”.

Perth Caribbean Association president Guy Garconnette says the coverage of the Queen’s passing is excessive.

“Personally, I find the coverage has been quite over the top,” he says.

“You can’t turn on radio stations or TV channels without seeing a lot of coverage.”

“It’s heavily focused towards monarchists and royalists. You hardly hear any opposing voices or alternate views on the monarchy in general.”

Guy Garconnette

Human rights expert Dr Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes says there is often a disconnect between the news and lived experience.

“We are bombarded with lots of news that have very little to do with the actual conditions under which so many people live,” he says.

“Colonialism decivilised the civilised, colonialism created a monster out of a human being.

“The corporate media is owned by cooperations [and] there is very little space for the majority of the world’s populations to channel their views, especially their critical views.”

Dr Woldeyes is a researcher and senior lecturer at Curtin University’s Centre for Human Rights Education.

He says colonisation dehumanises people.

“One of the profound things about colonialism is it makes you forget the consciousness of the colonised,” he says.

Despite the frustration with the saturation of coverage, Mr Garconnette says “it’s sad” the Queen has passed.

“I think at one point in time she was the head of state of every English speaking Caribbean Island or country in the Caribbean.”

According to the National Geographic, at its peak, the British Empire colonised over a quarter of the world and ruled more than 450 million people.

Mr Garconnette says the Royal Family tried to stay out of politics, which is why it isn’t necessarily the Queen’s fault the Empire did what it did.

“She just happened to be at the [head] of the Empire,” he says.

Country Women’s Association of Western Australia’s chief executive Trish Langdon says the rolling media coverage isn’t biased.

“I think we are talking about a momentous historical occasion and I think that there is a lot of tradition that goes with that.

“I think the way the Country Women’s Association see it is that in whatever culture or country or region, I think for a woman … to be the head of state for just over 70 years and to do that until the age of 96 is a pretty remarkable effort for any individual.”

Ms Langdon says it’s justifiable people may not want to mourn the Queen’s death.

“It’s understandable that they don’t want to take part in the mourning process and that’s totally acceptable,” she says.

“I think there will be some people who will see the monarchy as a symbol of things in terms of colonising countries.”

Mr Garconnette says he hopes moving forward Australia can have a mature discussion on becoming a republic with an Australian head of state.

“I just hope that it can spur positive debate on growing up and becoming a truly self-determined country rather than having a foreign born head of state who has basically nothing to do with the country itself other than past colonial ties.”