Scott Morrison picks former general David Hurley to be Australia's next governor-general
Former general and Defence Force chief David Hurley will be Australia's next governor-general, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Sunday.
General Hurley, currently the 38th Governor of NSW, will take up the position in Canberra next year to replace Sir Peter Cosgrove, whose term will be extended to ensure a smooth transition over the NSW and federal elections early next year.
Mr Morrison advised Opposition Leader Bill Shorten of the decision on Sunday morning before making the announcement in Parliament House, saying General Hurley was his "first and only choice" for the position.
The appointment was described as "safe" and "solid" but is expected to spur debate about whether a woman should have been named.
General Hurley served for 42 years in the Australian Army and was awarded the distinguished service cross for his leadership during Operation Solace in Somalia in 1993, an operation that saw a battalion deployed north-west of Mogadishu.
He is married to Linda, a primary school teacher who retired from full-time education in 2011, has been a volunteer at the Canberra Hospital and Hospice and is a patron of "Solid Rock", a Christian ministry to women in Defence.
"This was very much a package deal in inviting Governor Hurley to take on this role with Mrs Hurley," Mr Morrison said.
"General Hurley is known for looking people straight in the eye, not up and not down," he added.
The appointment required the Prime Minister to extend Sir Peter's term at Yarralumla, which was to expire in March.
Mr Morrison said General Hurley wanted to take up the new appointment after the NSW election on March 23.
"He believed the honourable thing for him was to fulfil his current constitutional obligations before he took on new ones," Mr Morrison said.
The outcome, with the agreement of the Queen, is to extend Sir Peter's term until June so that General Hurley takes up the new position then.
NSW premier Mike Baird appointed General Hurley in June 2014 to take up the position in October for five years. This came soon after he had served as chief of the Defence Force for three years.
Mr Morrison praised General Hurley for his weekly boxing workouts with indigenous children as part of a program called Tribal Warriors.
"These kids in the program call him 'guv' – I suppose they'll call you 'GG' now," Mr Morrison said as he stood alongside General Hurley in Parliament House.
"The people of NSW have taken to the Hurleys – they are generous and approachable and they live out a joyous public service.
"Governor and Mrs Hurley have been married for over 40 years and have been an example in that relationship.
"Mrs Hurley has made Government House in Sydney a warm and inviting place. Her singalongs are legendary but they also serve an important purpose – to put people from all walks of life at ease.
"At so many of their functions, heads of industry and government will find themselves singing along with a local charity work or someone they had met on their travels."
Asked if he had spoken to former foreign minister Julie Bishop about the position of governor-general, Mr Morrison said: "No."
General Hurley said he was humbled and proud to accept the "highest honour" of being governor-general.
"I was surprised to receive your request. Linda and I are enjoying our work in Government House in Sydney, we were looking forward to the next stage of our lives after my term as Governor concluded towards the end of next year," he said.
"We know, though, that if I was to retire, the most significant part of our current role, that we would miss, would be the opportunity to visit and meet the multitude of extraordinary Australians in our community.
"I've certainly confirmed in my own mind, over the past four years, something that I'd sensed about Australia but really hadn't had the opportunity before to witness on a day-to-day basis – that Australia is a very rich country in a non-material sense.
"Australians have an amazing and indeed enormous capacity to contribute their time, their energy, their talents, their emotions, their care and indeed their money to assist others.
"And I look forward to continuing to be involved with them in these pursuits."
General Hurley praised his wife for her "unique" contribution to the role and said he would be enormously proud to represent Australia.
"My commitment to the people of Australia is that we will fulfil our responsibilities in the same full-hearted manner that we have worked in NSW over the past four years," he said.
In a statement, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the people of NSW had been fortunate to have General Hurley as the state's 38th governor.
"Governor Hurley has completed scores of visits to all parts of regional NSW – from Albury to Lismore to Broken Hill and everywhere in between," Ms Berejiklian said.
Ms Berejiklian's statement said General Hurley's term expired next year, and a decision on his replacement would be made "in the near future".
Post a Comment