Book Review: The Office of Governor-General
| Date | 01 March 1980 |
| Published date | 01 March 1980 |
| Author | L. J. M. Cooray |
| DOI | 10.1177/0067205X8001100108 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
112 Federal
Law
Review
[VOLUME
11
The Office 0/ Governor-General by
PAUL
HASLUCK, K.G.,
P.C.;
Former
Governor-General of Australia. (Melbourne University Press, 1979),
pp. 1-47. Paperback, recommended retail price $3.40 (ISBN: 0522
84187
2).
The Office 0/ Governor-General
is
asomewhat pretentious title for a
short 47 page publication consisting of the text of the Oueale Memorial
Lecture delivered in 1972 and notes and information intended to
supplement and update it.
The Oueale Memorial Lecture was established to cover some aspect
of "management or commerce
or
industry". Stressing and widely
construing the word "management", Sir Paul chose to focus the lecture
around the work of an Australian Governor-General so far as it is
involved in Australian government. Very briefly in language compre-
hensible to the layman, Sir Paul sketches the political and constitutional
basis, background and context in which the office of Governor-General
has been established and functions.
He
sets out to cover awide area and
this has resulted in asuperficial treatment of topics considered and, in
places, misleading comments.1
The text ofthelecture which
is
printed exactly as delivered is followed
by some brief comments on the text and some new material about the
way Sir Paul worked when he was Governor-General.
He
says
"I
saw a
need to make this addition because in various books and newspaper
articles published concerning the events of November 1975 statements
have been made which reveal either ignorance by the writers of how
things were done or faulty memory or false gossip about what was done"
(page
3).
The statements he refers to include erroneously reported
incidents involving Sir Paul during the time he was Governor-General.
He
however does not make direct comments on the actions of the Senate
nor the dismissal of the Prime Minister in 1975.2
Sir Paul and Sir John Kerr in different ways were determined to map
out arole for the Governor-General which made the incumbent of the
office something more than the puppet of the executive. Sir Paul did this
by carefully examining all papers referred to him for signature as a
person in whom executive power is vested, and when he thought
necessary raising questions and referring back to relevant sources. The
best part of the publication
is
the detailed explanation of the manner in
which he operated (pages 17-22 and 35-42).
His rationale for the office of Governor-General emerges from his
analysis:
So long
as
the Crown is part of the Executive, it will be difficult for
any elected Government to act in awilful and high-handed way in
disregard of the law or the public interest unless it
is
prepared to
expose itself
as
deliberately choosing to disregard the law and the
public interest; and it will be impossible for any bureaucracy to do
1See for example the brief analysis
of
the Crown and the exercise
of
the
prerogatives
of
the Crown in the States severally and in the Federation
(p.9).
2But see non-committal comments on 1975 (p.
2)
and aseries
of
oblique
comments on the actions of Sir John Kerr, quoted
infra
pp. 113-114.
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