LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUNDAY MAIL BRISBANE

13 April 2008

Christopher Bantick’s article (Wisdom from Menzies era doesn’t apply 13 April) would have benefited from some basic research.

He quotes surveys. In a survey published by your own newspaper group, 96.1% of online voters agreed with the Governor-General’s comments about youth. So much for being out of touch.

The article was also critical of the Governor-General for not visiting flood affected areas in January but failed to mention that the Governor-General did visit both Emerald and Mackay during the recovery phase. Instead of mock outrage from Brisbane, Mr Bantick might have contacted the mayors in these areas to seek comment about the visit and its timing.

In regard to timing, and quoting this office, Mr Bantick omitted a key point. The timing of visits to disaster affected areas is always based on the advice of local authorities. This is to ensure that such visits do not get in the way of the critically important work of emergency workers in dealing with the situation.

The Governor-General’s comments about sportsmanship have resonated across the community including in the online opinion sections of many media outlets.

Your readers can get an insight into the Office of Governor-General by visiting our website at www.gg.gov.au.

Malcolm Hazell
Official Secretary to the Governor-General