Right: Governor-General Quentin Bryce with the Prime Minister Tony Abbott. The PM did not join in the condemnation of the G-G's Boyer lecture comments.
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Arguments in favour of the Governor-General commenting publicly on social and political issues
1. A number of other Governors-General have had political connections or made political comments while holding the office
In an opinion piece published on the ABC's opinion site, The Drum, on September 2, 2010, Elisabeth O'Shea noted, 'Pre-existing political sympathies have been features of many previous appointments to the role of Governor General... Consider, for example, when our Governor General was Sir Paul Hasluck...Hasluck was elected as a Liberal MP but resigned from the Menzies Government in 1969 to take up the role of Governor General. He held the spot until he resigned in 1974. Obviously, the Governor General had a political history and ideological sympathies, but this raised no concerns in his appointment.'
O'Shea went on to comment, 'Bill Hayden was elected as a Labour MP in 1961 and served as a Minister in the Whitlam Government. After the dismissal, Hayden became leader of the opposition before Hawke pipped him for that job in 1983. He went on to serve as Governor General between 1989 and 1996.'
In an opinion piece published in The Hoopla on November 25, 2013, Monica Attard observed, 'Former GG Sir William Deane was known and indeed admired for speaking out when he saw wrongs that political remedies could right. He saw the role as one that holds a mirror to the people - a way to make this country look at itself and judge whether it's on track to becoming a better place.'
Attard concluded, 'Quentin Bryce's view that Australia can embrace same sex marriage and still dream of becoming a republic is carrying forward Bill Dean's legacy.'
2. The Governor-General's comments were not party-political and did not conflict with her vice-regal role
The governor-general is generally regarded as needing to be above politics, in the sense that s/he should not indicate a bias toward any political party, nor become involved in party political issues.
Defenders of Bryce's remarks argue that though they did indicate an opinion on two controversial issues, neither issue is clearly aligned with any political party and both views were expressed in a way that really did little more than open each to further discussion.
Writing in The Guardian, Paula Matthewson compared Ms Bryce with a former
Governor-General, Sir William Deane, who also spoke publicly on social issues, such as Aboriginal native title. Matthewson states that, like Sir William, Ms Bryce ``... diligently kept her [party] politics to herself ... ''. Matthewson infers that gay marriage - and even an Australian republic - are not for discussion only by politicians, but issues for public debate and if not presented in a fashion that indicates a party affiliation, should be able to be raised by a Governor-General.
A similar view was expressed by Australia's current Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, who responded to Quentin Bryce's remarks by saying "It is more than appropriate for the Governor General, approaching the end of her term, to express a personal view on a number of subjects. That's what she was doing... and as you would expect with Quentin Bryce, she did it with grace and style."
The new convenor of the Tasmanian branch of the Australian Republican Movement, Angela Wilson, has also claimed that it was healthy to hold a national discussion on the issue of whether Australia should become a republic and that the Governor-General's comments were an important contribution to the debate.
Ms Wilson defended Quentin Bryce against allegations that her remarks were party-political, claiming that the issue transcended party politics.
Ms Wilson has commented, 'Notwithstanding comments by those who support Australia retaining its link to the British Crown, it is not a partisan debate. Support for a republic crosses party-political boundaries.'
3. The Governor-General's comments were appropriate and forward-looking
Defenders of Quentin Bryce's comments note that while they did not run contrary to the Governor-General's responsibilities, they did serve a transitional function, pointing to a future direction that Australia might profitably take regarding its head of state.
In an editorial in The Age, the leader writer stated, 'We believe [Quentin Bryce] has again served this country well by pointing to a freer, fairer, more mature Australia, where the head of state is one of us.'
Australian Republic Movement chairman, former West Australian Labor premier Geoff Gallop, has also backed the Governor-General's comments as appropriate, saying, 'We welcome a conversation with the Australian people to confirm who we have become, Australian to the bootstraps, in time for our next head of state to be one of us, an Australian.'
Both the Age editorial and Gallop's comments suggest that as Governor-General Quentin Bryce is uniquely well placed to promote the idea of the Australian Governor-General being more an Australian head of state than a representative of the British Monarch.
Supporters of Bryce's comments have suggested that the Governor-General has an important role to play in forwarding discussion generally and in particular in forwarding discussion around who should be Australia's head of state.
4. Quentin Bryce has previously been careful not to politicise the office of Governor-General
It has been argued that Quentin Bryce has shown a high level of awareness of the need to protect the political neutrality of her office and that she can therefore be trusted to discuss issues in an appropriate manner.
Quentin Bryce's daughter is married to Bill Shorten, a prominent Labor politician and now leader of the Australian Labor Party. Ms Bryce has been at pains to ensure that this connection cast no shadow of political bias across the position of Governor-General.
In October, 2013, Quentin Bryce offered her resignation to Prime Minister Tony Abbott in anticipation of her son-in-law Bill Shorten being elected Labor leader.
Mr Abbott declined to accept Ms Bryce's resignation, citing the length of the Governor-General's remaining term, and that the Coalition had a clear majority in the House of Representatives.
Mr Abbott further stated, 'The Governor-General is currently serving an extended term in office that she did not seek. Her agreement to stay on was a measure of her personal commitment to provide continuity at a time of political turbulence and she should be commended for her dedication to public service.'
Ms Bryce had displayed a similar sensitivity to the need for the office of Governor-General to be seen to be politically neutral three years earlier.
In 2010, after the election that delivered a hung parliament, Ms Bryce sought advice from the then solicitor-general Stephen Gageler, SC, about whether the marriage of her daughter to Mr Shorten created a conflict of interest. Mr Gageler found no legal conflict of interest and said Ms Bryce must be trusted to manage the perception of any conflict by prudently adhering to her constitutional responsibilities.
5. The Governor-General's comments enhance her position as a role model for young women
In her former vice-regal role as Governor of Queensland, Quentin Bryce actively promoted the causes of women in particular and social issues in general. Some commentators believe that these attitudes have carried over into her current appointment and that far from preventing her acting as a role model for other women, they have particularly qualified her to do so.
Writing in The Guardian, Paula Matthewson commented that, 'considering her work over the years and the causes she's supported, her views are no surprise.'
Matthewson has pointed out that Ms Bryce was outspoken on women's rights and social issues during her Queensland governorship, yet was still chosen for the post of Australian Governor-General. It has been suggested that this indicates that her outspokenness was not considered a bar to her appointment, or an impediment to her acting as a role model for young women.
Referring specifically to Quentin Bryce's Boyer Lectures, the leader of the Greens, Christine Milne, has stated, 'I think Quentin Bryce is showing great leadership as Governor-General and she is such a good role model and for her to come out now and support the idea of Australia becoming a republic is very welcome.'
On December 5, 2013 (some weeks after Quentin Bryce's delivery of the final Boyer Lecture) the United States Ambassador to Australia, John Berry, further stated, '[Quentin Bryce] is a role model, not just for the women and girls following in her footsteps, but also for people who aspire to be public servants, educators, mentors and leaders.'