That fascinating column in The Australian, Cut and Paste, came up with yet another example of double standards on 5 June, 2008.
This one concerned the republican leadership’s double standards about the Governor-General.
The extract reads:
“John Warhurst, deputy chairman of the Australian Republican Movement, disapproves of a governor-general expressing a different view from the Rudd Government, in The Canberra Times on May 1:
“THE Governor-General should follow the Queen's example and not voice his personal opinions about such matters as the republic.
“Even without the (2020) summit, the Governor-General was choosing to publicly differ with the newly elected Rudd Government.
“This was clearly a political step for an official supposedly above politics.
“On July 6, 2001, Warhurst takes a different view of the Governor-General speaking out:
“ THE general conclusion is that Bill Deane enlarged the role and took it to a new level during his term of office. Part of Deane's popularity came from his willingness to present himself implicitly as an alternative voice to the government of the day. ”
…monarchy sets the standards…
As we would expect, it is our Sovereign who sets the example.
In “Dont believe your eyes,” (The Australian, 4 June, 2008) Camilla Long reports:
“According to Dangin (Pascal Dangin, the celebrities’ most sought after New York digital retouch artist) the only public figure whose image tends not to be manipulated is…The Queen.”