RESPONSE BY GOVERNMENT HOUSE TO AN ARTICLE IN THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER

25 June 2008

Letters Editor
Adelaide Advertiser

I take issue with a number of false claims in the article by Steve Lewis and Ian McPhedran (Do you know “Mr invisible”, our Governor-General - 25 June).

The dinner hosted by the Governor-General for the federal ministry to thank Ministers for their support, which I attended, was anything but a “stuffy affair”. Rather than an “awkward silence” the evening was characterised by a warm and friendly atmosphere and a lively buzz of conversation.

The claim that the Governor-General was “ordered” to keep his head down is absolute nonsense. The claim has been denied by the Governor-General on many occasions and the former Prime Minister’s Office but remains unsubstantiated press gallery scuttlebutt.

Similarly, claims about travel to the United Arab Emirates are nonsense. The protocols surrounding such visits are clearly established and are coordinated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Governor-General did not request special treatment - to the contrary we were appreciative of the low key way the visit was conducted. The Governor-General used Abu Dhabi as a staging point for some highly sensitive travel to Iraq and Afghanistan to visit our troops stationed there. For security reasons the less said about such movements the better.

Please get the facts right, just once.


Malcolm Hazell
Official Secretary to the Governor-General