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General Peter Cosgrove has been appointed Australia’s 26th Governor-General. He will replace Quentin Bryce, who retires in March.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced the appointment at Parliament House, accompanied by General and Mrs. Lynne Cosgrove. Abbott said he could not think of a finer person for the job.
Abbott paid tribute to outgoing Governor-General Quentin Bryce who has served in the position since 2008. He said Cosgrove was a “worthy” successor. [Read more…]
Retired General Peter Cosgrove is to be Australia’s next Governor-General, according to a report in today’s edition of The Australian.
Cosgrove has been rumoured to be the choice of Prime Minister Tony Abbott for some time. Whilst the newspaper says Abbott refused to comment on its report, the news comes as no real surprise.
The newspaper says the appointment will be announced at the end of January.
The current Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, has held the position since September 5, 2008 and will retire in March. Her 5-year appointment was extended by six months by former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, due to the proximity of the federal election.
Cosgrove will be Australia’s 26th Governor-General since 1901. The last Governor-General with a military background was Bryce’s predecessor, Major-General Michael Jeffery. [Read more…]
The Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, has called for an Australian republic and same-sex marriage in the last of her Boyer Lectures, delivered just four months before she retires from the Vice-Regal role.
Bryce’s remarks came at the end of a speech titled “Advance Australia Fair”. She concluded by imagining a nation of care and equality, “where people are free to love and marry whom they choose and where, perhaps, my friends, one day, one young girl or boy may even grow up to be our nation’s first head of state”. [Read more…]
The Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, has officially opened the 44th Parliament.
After a day of ceremonies, including the swearing-in of the new House of Representatives, Bryce summoned members to the Senate and delivered the traditional government-written speech outlining the government’s program for the new Parliament.
The government will be “active” but not “big”, Bryce said. She outlined Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s plan to “repeal the carbon tax, abolish the mining tax, cut the waste and build the roads of the 21st century”.
Bryce’s 30-minute speech was followed by a 19-gun salute by military cannons outside Parliament House.
Earlier, the House of Representatives elected Bronwyn Bishop as its new Speaker, replacing Anna Burke, the last of three speakers in the 43rd Parliament.
The Parliament gets down to business tomorrow when it is expected that the bills to repeal the carbon tax will be introduced in the morning. Abbott and new Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will face off in Question Time at 2pm.
Today’s speech was Quentin Bryce’s last opening of Parliament. She retires in March next year.
Transcript of Governor-General Quentin Bryce’s Address at the Opening of the First Session of the Forty-Fourth Commonwealth Parliament.
Introduction
Honourable Senators and Members of the Parliament of Australia.
Today, at the opening of the 44th Commonwealth Parliament, we celebrate the enduring health of our democracy.
One hundred and twelve years after the first Federal election, nearly 14 million Australians have cast their votes in another free and fair election.
For only the fourth time in three decades, the Australian people have voted for a change of government. [Read more…]
