After criticising the Governor-General in the Parliament, Senator Stephen Conroy (ALP Vic) brings down an avalanche of criticism on his head for “reflecting on the G-G” including by leaders of his own party. While his argument did not make much sense, just about everyone thought that there should be no criticism of the G-G in Parliament because he is above party politics. Apparently, this is a rule of the federal Parliament. This seems odd to WfaAR because there is criticism of the Queen and the G-G in the media and online for all sorts of reasons and in comedy (noticeably more and more pointedly of the Queen and the Royal Family in Britain than here). We seem to be becoming increasingly reverential (conservative) about the Head of State and the G-G complete with knighthood. Marius Benson made some pertinent observations, click on link below. [“Antiquated parliamentary rules are a poor reflection on our democracy” by Marius Benson, The Drum, ABC online opinion, 19 April 2016]
Woman for an Australian Republic, Adelaide Ironside, republican poet and artist 1831-1867
Self portrait 1855, Newcastle Art Gallery NSW
