2023-03-06
6 March 2023
Senator Shoebridge will speak to this issue in the 1:20pm press conference today in the Mural Hall
The Greens will today introduce a bill to the Senate to remove access to lucrative entitlements by former Governors-General where they are found to have engaged in serious misconduct, taking the next steps to remedy this obvious oversight in the law.
The ability to remove entitlements, especially generous ones, exists for all other similar offices, whether MP’s, judges or other senior public officials. It is an accountability gap that must be closed for Governors- General.
Today, on behalf of the Greens, Senator Shoebridge will present to the Parliament a bill that will provide accountability for former Governors-General, by allowing for the removal of their entitlements if they have engaged in serious misconduct. The move can be made either by the Minister or by a House of Parliament.
Lines attributable to Greens Justice Spokesperson Senator David Shoebridge:
“Former Governors General each cost the taxpayer around $600,000 per year and this should not be a blank cheque that they continue to receive regardless of their conduct.
“If someone is struggling to get by on $282 a week in JobSeeker payments and they miss a job interview they get a warning, if they do it twice they can have their payments halted.
“If a former Governor General is convicted of a crime or is proven to engage in the most serious misconduct, they keep on receiving up to $600,000 a year in entitlements, that’s about $11,500 a week, no questions asked.
“Supporting this bill will show survivors that the Parliament listens and understands, and will no longer allow laws that shield past or future abusers from consequences.
“We have seen how politicised the office of the Governor-General can be and it is an appropriate response to ensure this office is not above the law and basic decency.
“Many victims and survivors of abuse have asked me to make this move, and I’m grateful to them for their continuing advocacy for justice, and their continuing belief that the political system will respond to their calls,” Senator Shoebridge said.
Background:
The Bill being presented by Senator Shoebridge mirrors a Bill first presented by former Greens Senator Rachel Siewert in 2019. That Bill did not progress to a vote in the last Parliament.
Former Governors-General receive a $357,000-a-year pension, plus travel and office expenses (estimated at a total cost of $600 000 a year total). Hollingworth served only 18 months as Governor-General and then resigned after a public outcry over his handling of child sexual abuse claims in the Anglican Church.
In the two decades since his exiting the office of Governor General, Hollingworth has received millions of dollars in payments and entitlements. In just the five years from FY2016/17 to FY2020/21 he received in excess of $3 million of benefits.