Is there a Process for Deciding the Governor-General?

The debates post Christmas and running up to Australia Day fall a bit flat this year as if the whole thing has run out of steam after the amount of energy and angst consumed by the shouting match over the merits of the Voice to Parliament proposal and the aftermath of the referendum vote. However, The Australian had a go trying to rev up opposition to the Prime Minister naming an – possibly radical – Indigenous replacement for outgoing Governor-General, David Hurley. Reporting on an interview with former University of Canberra chancellor and Voice Design Committee Co-chair, Professor Tom Calma labelled “one of the nation’s most respected Indigenous rights campaigners” and himself a possible candidate for the G-G job, the journalist also discussed the process of selecting the Governor-General and revealed many more stages and people involved than simply the Prime Minister including a shortlist of candidates approved by Cabinet and a preliminary list sent to the Australian monarch six months before any announcement. WfaAR was unable to source a written authority for this several stage process discussed by Professor John Wanna in the article and our attempt to get this verified by the Prime Minister/Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet failed. So the mystery deepens, it’s more than a recommendation from our Prime Minister to our Head of State apparently. [“Voice architect Tom Calma leads call for Australia’s first Indigenous governor-general” by Joe Kelly, The Australian online, 21 January 2024]