RESPONSE TO STORY PUBLISHED IN THE COURIER-MAIL NEWSPAPER ON 31 AUGUST 2006

1 September 2006

Following an article written by Mr Greg Barns published in The Courier-Mail, the letter that appears below was sent to the paper.

Letter to the Editor
The Courier-Mail

Greg Barns article “For Queen or country” (31 August) begins with the premise that as 80 per cent of Australians have no idea of the name of their Governor-General this is indicative most people see the role of the Queen’s representative as being irrelevant to their lives.

It is not appropriate for me to enter into a policy debate on Australia’s governance arrangements which are matters for the Government and people of Australia; however, I do need to point out to your readers that the premise on which the article was based is, quite simply, wrong.

As pointed out in my letter published on 25 August, the News Limited “survey” was neither national nor statistically reliable: it was limited to four capital cities where people were approached and shown a photograph. Any extrapolation based on these responses is simply not valid. Significantly, the survey did not cover the two jurisdictions where the Governor-General would be best known: Western Australia and the ACT.

Nor did it survey people in the more remote parts of Australia who have seen, and enthusiastically received, their Governor-General.

Malcolm Hazell
Official Secretary to the Governor-General