Government News Index
Woman for G-G role
Courier-Mail
13mar02
PRIME Minister John Howard sounded out Qantas chairwoman Margaret Jackson as a replacement governor-general, it has been reported.
The Bulletin magazine today says Ms Jackson was Mr Howard's original choice for the vice-regal position. With the growing furore over Governor-General Peter Hollingworth, Mr Howard again sounded out Ms Jackson to take up the vice-regal role.
Ms Jackson has a long list of directorships including with BHP, ANZ, Pacific Dunlop, the Australian Wool Corporation and surfwear company Billabong.
She also is the chair of the Methodist Ladies College in Melbourne and patron of the Salvation Army's Capital Appeal for Homeless Youth in Victoria.
There has been speculation for almost 12 months that Mr Howard approached a woman to replace Sir William Deane as governor-general when his term expired midway through last year.
The Bulletin said Ms Jackson preferred to focus on her new role at Qantas, which she had taken up in August 2000.
But with the concerns that Dr Hollingworth may step down over his handling of child sexual abuse claims during his term as Anglican archbishop of Brisbane, there was hope Ms Jackson could take up the position at short notice.
However, Deputy Premier John Anderson said yesterday that he believed the furore generated by Dr Hollingworth's comments on child abuse had died down.
"I think we've moved into calmer waters in that I sense the debate can now be conducted in a slightly less frenetic environment," Mr Anderson said.
"I think that's a good thing, and I think that frankly (the debate) had become overheated."
Mr Anderson said the public and media's reaction to major issues "worries me a little bit".
"I talked to John Major once after he had retired as Prime Minister of Britain and he said we seem to live in an environment where, if something goes wrong, it's a total and complete and absolute catastrophe that's going to have the skies falling in and the end of the world as we know it," Mr Anderson said.
"Sometimes you need to be able to take a more balanced perspective and the current climate, I think, allows for that."