What
sort of Head of State do we want?
Much (if not most) of the debate over the republic has
been focused on the method of electing the President;
far too little time has been spent considering the most
important question of what we expect from the office of
the President.
Is the President to be a perfect republican copy of the
Governor General, with precisely the same powers and duties?
Sir Zelman Cowen once said that the Governor General should
represent the nation to itself. Are we seeking then, in
the President, a different form of national leadership
than that which we expect from our politicians?
If recent Governors General are a guide, then the President
would be expected to be utterly impartial, non-political,
or at least non-partisan, and generally to conduct himself
or herself in a manner that is not likely to get the office
embroiled in political controversy. The President should
have the capacity to inspire us, to focus our attention
on the things that unite us and encourage a greater sense
of community in our diverse nation.
At the moment the Governor General has certain limited,
but important, powers to act contrary to the advice of
the Prime Minister. The Governor General could refuse
to call an election requested by the Prime Minister and
could dismiss a Prime Minister. Some types of dismissal
would be non-controversial. A Prime Minister who had lost
the confidence of the House of Representatives but refused
to resign should be sacked. But should the Governor General
have the power to sack a Prime Minister whose government
is persisting in breaking the law? There is some controversy
on that point. In brief; the Governor General does have
the power to sack a Prime Minister. The circumstances
in which that can be done are not entirely defined and
remain controversial. Critics of the reserve powers say
this lack of precision leads to uncertainty and, potentially,
chaos. Defenders say it preserves flexibility. But all
agree that in exercising such important constitutional
powers the Governor General must act in an utterly impartial
fashion.
Would we rather have a President who actually runs the
country, like the President of the United States? This
type of President is not simply the Head of State but
also the Head of Government. This would be a big change
from our current system of government, but given that
our system is unique, incorporating elements of both Westminster
and Washington, it may be this is not quite as big a change
as many might think.
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