The Australian has been tipped off that retired General Peter Cosgrove is Tony Abbott’s pick to be the next Governor-General.
While sharing a broad world-view with Tones it’s a slightly dangerous choice as he’ll be his own man.
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The Australian has been tipped off that retired General Peter Cosgrove is Tony Abbott’s pick to be the next Governor-General.
While sharing a broad world-view with Tones it’s a slightly dangerous choice as he’ll be his own man.
What’s Your opinion?
Cosgrove heading to Yarralumla?
IP I can only hope that the increasing use of military in civilian activities is actually a great sign that they’ve run out of wars to fight.
caf said :
I know JB doesn’t want to this to become a debate, so I’ll keep this brief and hope he lets it through to the keeper. Regardless of how it happened, IMHO the choice of the current GG was one thing the previous government got right. It can’t have been an easy job with PMs coming and going. I am an old soldier, but I think if Cosgrove is to be the new GG, he would be well advised to study how Quentin Bryce has gone about the job.
c_c™ said :
Oh the irony. You can’t be Head of State if you’re born in Australia and you can’t be Governor General if you’re born in England?
Anyway, is no-one concerned about the creeping militarisation (actually, it’s not creeping, it’s blatant) of Australian society? The generals seem to get given every job whether its disaster recovery, managing so-called “border protection” and so on, presumably based on their astounding history of military successes (that’s sarcasm, by the way) and of managing their own HR (abuse) problems.
If the Australian military had any backbone they would have refused to illegally invade Afghanistan and Iraq, or hijack foreign ships etc – “I voz only following orders” stopped being a defence some decades ago.
It would be nice to see a GG with some integrity who would actually challenge the government of the day when they are straying from democracy. .
IP
Roundhead89 said :
While I am sure your Labor Party sources are impeccable, this makes no sense because the left is not in a position to insist on anything.
It seems to have escaped your notice that sometime in the last 50 years selecting a capable woman for a senior position graduated from being a “trendy left cause” to completely mainstream.
When the bastardisation scandals were rockin’ da boat at RMC more than one old grunt raised a weary finger and accused Cosgrove of being one of the greatest exponents of the practice in the history of the college.
Now obviously there are two sides to every story but I’m thinking if more than one old soldier remembers events then there’s likely to be a grain of truth there.
Perhaps he has mellowed and/or grown up, but who knows, maybe the good workers of Government House can start quakin’ in their boots already.
Wilco said :
I agree, but I wonder whether being British born and raised may preclude him from consideration. I don’t think it should, because the life he’s built has been largely in Australia, back to his outback days, but with the exception of Ninian Stephen, Houston would be the first Brit to hold the GG’s office since 1965.
I would have put money on Tony selecting a female for the position to go someway to reducing the misogynist label he has been tagged with.
The simplest, least controversial choice would be elevating Marie Bashir.
If this does come to pass, both sides of the constitutional debate will be able to claim benefit from it – the monarchists, for obvious reasons (particularly with the royal visit at much the same time), and the republicans, because the appointment of a high-profile figure will once again put a focus on the position.
Debating Quentin Bryce would be severely offtopic and will be moderated as such.
LOL, so Bubblehead, are you saying that Quentin Bryce wasn’t an excellent GG who upheld the dignity and functions of the office as good as any previous GG (and a hell of a lot better than some).
If so, come on, out with it, the full rundown on her transgressions as you see them. Tis the season to be jolly
I heard that Cosgrove was Kevin Rudd’s original choice but the left of the party insisted that a woman be chosen. Hopefully Cosgrove will restore integrity to the position and there will be no more tokenism, nepotism and pushing of trendy left causes.
Come the revolution, when us colonials get to have our own leader (Yes, the Commander-in-Chief of the Barmy Army, HRH Queen Lizzie, is also Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Army), I propose to nominate the honourable Darren ‘Boof’ Lehmann. He is already a national hero, marshalling our Aussie battlers to victory against the lukewarm shandy drinkers of ol Blighty. He also has the experience and ability, in an Obama-like way, to span the divide on the one schism that continues to divide the Australian nation…his family car was a Ford and his first job was at Holdens. Boof Lehmann, the best thing to come out of Gawler since…the road to the Barossa.
IMHO, Angus Houston would be a better choice. He has form in challenging government’s versions of events!
Do you ever get sick of being so profoundly stupid?
Quentin Bryce’s term is ending. The point is Cosgrove will quite possibly not be a tory stooge (all governments want a GG who won’t rock the boat). Having said that there are limited possibilities for the GG to exercise real power so the issue might never come up.
Dangerous hey? Having a pro-gay marriage, pro-republic Emily’s lister who’s the opposition leader’s mother in law as the Queen’s representative was your preferred choice?