Different appointments in different circumstances

Press, 29 October 1977, Page 16

Different appointments in different circumstances

The last of three articles in which ANGUS ROSS has discussed the appointment of Governors-General in Australia and New Zealand.

This year’s appointments of Sir Zelman Cowen as Governor-General of Australia and of. Sir Keith Holyoake as Governor-General of New Zealand have both been much discussed. Without bias, an observer might remark at once that whereas Australia, which has set the trend towards political appointments in the past, has in 1977 gone for a non-poli-tical appointment; New Zealand has for the first time opted for as strikingly political an appointment as it is possible to conceive. Both the knights appointed have had genuinely distinguished careers, but in widely different spheres; both will bring to their tasks valuable qualifications and experience gained in those careers.

Almost certainly, Sir Zelman faces the more difficult task. In part, this is because of the political structure of the Commonwealth of Australia where the federal system sometimes means there are differences between the states and the Commonwealth and the bic a m e r a 1 legislature frequently suffers from clashes between the Senate and the House of Representatives. In part, too, Sir Zelman has inherited a difficult situation from his predecessor, Sir John Kerr.

November 1975 saw a dramatic use of the pre-.-ogative powers of the Gov-ernor-General in Australia. Although he had been a nominee of the Labour Government, Sir John Kerr withdrew his commission from his former friend, the Labour Prime Minister, Mr Gough Whitlam. Mr Whitlam had a clear majority in the Lower House, but he could not obtain supply because the Senate persisted in its opposition to his financial policy. Mr Whitlam refused to resign and face an election to determine whether the country was behind him. To resolve the deadlock the Governor-General took action which amounted to the dismissal of the Whitlam

Government. This led to a period when many Whitlam supporters showed marked hostility to Sir John Kerr and some either questioned the role and office of Gover-nor-General or voiced republican sentiments. Possibly with a view to silencing criticisms and refurbishing the image of the office, Mr Malcolm Fraser has secured the appointment to the Governor-Generalship of a very able man in Sir Zelman Cowen. A distinguished academic and writer, a former Rhodes Scholar, a professor of public law and Dean of the Faculty of Law at Melbourne University, more recently Vice-Chancellor of the University of New England at Armidale in New South Wales and in the last few years Vice-Chancellor of the University of Queensland and Chairman of the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee, Sir Zelman will be the sixth Australian occupant of his new office, which he will take up in December. He resembles the first Australian Governor-General, Sir Isaac Isaacs, in two rea spects: he is a Jew, although

he has said he is “a not very religious man,” and he is an eminent legal authority. He has been described as "probably Australia’s most distinguished constitutional lawyer.” Incidentally, his long list of publications includes a biography of Sir Isaac. But, unlike Sir Isaac, Sir Zelman has never been a member of any political party and he has never sought election to any state or Commonwealth political office. Whereas Sir Isaac was 75 when he took over the office, Sir Zelman had his 58th birthday on October 7, 1977. With his qualifications and record, the Governor-General designate would appear to be well fitted to cope with the difficult situations which may occur in Australia in the next five years. In New Zealand there has been controversy over the appointment of Sir Keith Holyoake to the gubernatorial office. But most of the criticism has been directed at the Prime Minister, Mr Muldoon, rather than at Sir Keith. The fact is that in this, as in not a few other matters, Mr Muldoon has

taken for New Zealand an unprecedented action. But an examination of the rules or guidelines to appointments laid down back in 1930 and of the precedents provided by Australia would indicate that Mr Muldoon has acted well within his rights and the constitutional powers entrusted to him. In view of the convention that the GovernorGeneral is supposed to be impartial and above party politics, there may be some doubts as to the political wisdom of Mr Muldoon’s choice, but these can be expressed effectively only through the ballot box and, by the time next year’s election comes round, it seems unlikely many people will vote either way on account of Mr Muldoon’s decision on this particular matter. Some have criticised the appointment of Sir Keith on account of his age. At 73 he is still two to three years younger than Sir Isaac Isaacs was when.he entered upon his distinguished and successful term of office. He appears to be extremely fit and well. There is no guarantee that he will find the task easy but it is worth remembering that such important twentieth-century political leaders as Sir Winston Churchill, General de Gaulle, Dr Adenauer, General Franco. Marshall Tito, Chairman Mao and Chou En-lai have all held more demand’ ing offices when older than Sir Keith is now.

In his favour, it can be said that, in addition to being New Zealand’s most senior and most experienced politician, by virtue of his contacts with GovernorsGeneral during his terms of office as Prime Minister, Sir Keith is better acquainted with the requirements of the office he now fills than any other living New Zealander, with the exception of the man he has succeeded. In any case, the die has been cast and the appointment made; criticisms and recriminations no longer have any chance of reversing the decision.