NEW GG - Editorial

I can imagine the front pages of the National Dailies 50 years ago would have led with this next story with great fanfare and blazing headlines. They might have read... 'Australia's next Governor General sworn in'... or....'Queen annoints new representative'. Of course it would have been a man. But in 2008 things are very different. These days a lot of the press refer to this archaic office as the 'GG' and for the first time we now have a women living rent-free at our cost in houses in Canberra and Admiralty House in Sydney. Quentin Bryces swearing in to Australia's top office.... well, not quite, the Qwanger back in Buck House in London is still the big boss... could only make page three in the dailies and the story was mainly about her grandchildren playing during the ceremony and the colour of the dress she was wearing. A case of the Brian McFaddens when the writer in the Murdoch press suggested that 'she wore purple, often a colour associated with royalty.' I wonder if the new GG had been a man whether the writer would have made any comment on the selected wardrobe.

Ex Governor General, Michael Jeffrey.... Mr. Invisible.... packs up the Royal Doulton and heads off to enjoy free flights and a half-a-million dollar a year pension, indexed to inflation, for the rest of his life. Of course, we're paying that already to all the other ex-living Governors General. Even Bill Hayden, the ex-labour party leader who was rewarded by then Prime Minister Bob Hawke for stepping down and letting him become PM, used to scoff at having the job. Yep, we're paying him 500,000 a year as well.

So, the press pretty much ignored the occassion. Most Australians couldn't even remember the name of the last Governor General, let alone any of the other vice-regals. And we're still can't have an Aussie in the top office in the land. As an institution, it should be treated as no more than an excuse to open Pre Schools or plant trees... and the press seems to be following the public mood by largely ignoring the news bringing it down to an interesting social gathering or comment about an elderly women's fashion sense. What do you think?