Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Governor-General Amendment (Salary) Bill 2014 and thank the member for Brand for his words, for adding another Western Australian flavour to this place and for his commitment to the role of Governor-General. The bill amends the Governor-General Act 1974 to change the sum payable for the salary of the Governor-General. As I am sure you would be acutely aware, Madam Speaker, Section 3 of the Constitution specifies a salary of 10,000 pounds payable to the Governor-General until 'parliament otherwise provides'.

As the Parliamentary Library has documented, parliament did not legislate on the salary of governors-general until the 1974 act but since then salaries have been set for each incoming governor-general by an amendment to the act. Further to salary provision, the Constitution also provides guidance on the alteration of a salary during the term of a governor-general. As you will find in the explanatory memorandum, section 3 of the Constitution provides that the salary of the Governor-General shall not be altered during their continuance in office. This means it is necessary to consider this matter before our new Governor-General is sworn in on 28 March 2014, and I commend the Leader of the House for recognising this legislative requirement, taking carriage and personal responsibility for the legislation and introducing it to the House in a timely manner. The Leader of the House is obviously a scholar of the Constitution and was on top of the changes that would be needed to ensure the smooth transition between governors-general.

But I say to the Leader of the House that he is also showing courage in taking carriage of this legislation given the history of the issue of the Governor-General's salary in this parliament. The level of the salary and pension of governors-general does go back the constitutional convention of 1897 and has been of some interest to historians, including those in the Parliamentary Library. The research paper of the Parliamentary Library is of some interest, and I will relay to the House some of its contents. The Library notes that the sum of 10,000 pounds first appeared in the financial estimates produced at the 1897 constitutional convention. These estimates were circulated during the consideration of the draft constitution, and a salary of 10,000 pounds was ultimately included in the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1901 and then paid to our first Governor-General, Lord Hopetoun.

From early on in the history of the Commonwealth the Governor-General's salary has been supplemented—even if this was not straightforward at first. Australia's first Prime Minister, Edmund Barton, made it clear that he believed that the 1897 convention and the framers of the Constitution always intended to provide additional allowances to supplement the salary. However, the bill brought forward by Prime Minister Barton in May 1902, which provided for an additional 8,000 pounds per annum 'to assist in defraying the Governor-General's establishment', was not supported by the parliament and was never brought to a vote as a result. I am sure the Leader of the House has been conscious of this history in his drafting of the bill and will guide the legislation through successfully.

Instead of passing Barton's bill in 1902, the House provided a one-off payment of 10,000 pounds to Governor-General Hopetoun to defray personal expenses incurred during the landmark 1901 royal visit. It was a fiscally responsible decision of the parliament, but, according to the Governor-General's website, Hopetoun felt humiliated and resigned his commission. This incident made subsequent parliaments extremely reluctant to approach the issue of the vice-regal salary, and it was true for a while that many of the activities of the governors-general of Australia were funded privately by the governors-general themselves. This situation remained broadly the same until the Whitlam government introduced the Governor-General Act 1974 to increase the salary of the Rt Hon. Sir John Kerr, which I am sure was appreciated by Mr Kerr.

In putting forward the legislation, Prime Minister Whitlam's principle was that the Governor-General's salary should be dealt with in a non-partisan way. Since the 1974 bill was passed, the parliament has progressively updated the salary of the Governor-General. The Rt Hon. Sir Zelman Cowen received $37,000; the Rt Hon. Sir Ninian Stephen, $70,000; and the Hon. William Hayden, $95,000. The salary since 1982 has been linked informally to the Chief Justice's salary. Following Hayden, the Hon. Sir William Deane's salary was reduced to $58,000 to take into account the pension he received as a former Justice of the High Court. Major General the Hon. Michael Jeffrey followed this tradition by donating his military pension to charity. I note that the Governor-General designate, General Peter Cosgrove, has honourably followed the example of Deane and requested that regard be given to the Commonwealth funded military pension he will be entitled to receive during his term of office. The proposed salary of $425,000 per annum therefore takes into account General Cosgrove's military pension. Following Deane, it is worth noting there was a major leap in the salary provided—to $310,000—for the subsequent Governor-General. This was due to the amendment of the Income Tax Assessment Act 2001 to make Governor-General's salary subject to taxation. Previously it was tax free.

Contrary to the early days of the Commonwealth, the proposed salary in this legislation is not set by any member of parliament. The proposed salary increase in this legislation is recommended by the Remuneration Tribunal, a body independent of government. In line with past practice, the proposed salary was calculated with reference to the estimated average salary of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia over the notional five-year term of the appointment of the Governor-General. There will of course be a financial cost increasing the Governor-General's salary. The net financial impact of the new arrangements is unquantifiable as it is not possible to estimate the exact taxation liabilities, which will depend on the individual financial circumstances of the Governor-General—it will not be large.

There are two amendments required to the Governor-General Act 1974. Item 1 refers to section 3 of the Governor-General Act 1974. Section 3 of the Governor-General Act provides that the annual sum payable for the salary of the Governor-General shall be $394,000. Item 1 omits the annual sum of $394,000 and substitutes a new annual sum of $425,000. Item 2 is a transitional provision to ensure that the amendments do not apply during the continuance in office of the person holding office as Governor-General immediately before the commencement of this part.

I conclude by making some general remarks about the Governor-General designate, General Peter Cosgrove. I note General Cosgrove's distinguished military career and I am sure he will be taking a keen interest in the Centenary of Anzac celebrations next year. General Cosgrove's association with the military began as a cadet at Waverley College, during which time he was selected as the outstanding cadet to be sent to the Royal Military College Duntroon for a four-day visit. This must have provided some inspiration for General Cosgrove as he then entered RMC Duntroon in 1965, graduating as a lieutenant in 1968. This sparked an illustrious military career involving Army service postings in Malaysia, Vietnam, the UK, India and the USA. In 1999, he commanded the international force that secured peace in East Timor. General Cosgrove was widely praised for leading international forces in difficult circumstances without battle casualties to achieve a successful result. Indeed, the former President of East Timor, Jose Ramos-Horta, has described INTERFET as the first completely successful peacekeeping mission anywhere in the world, according to TheWeekend Australian.

In 2000, General Cosgrove was appointed Land Force Commander and then promoted to Chief of Army. In 2001, he was named Australian of the Year. In 2002, he was promoted to full General and made Chief of the Defence Force. As the Prime Minister said in his statement on the usually behind-the-scenes role of the Crown, it is 'to be consulted, to encourage and to warn'—as in Bagehot's phrase. We are certain that General Cosgrove will carry out his duties as the Queen's representative in Australia with vigour and integrity. I would like to thank the Parliamentary Library for their research on this issue and help with this speech. I commend the bill to the House.

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