Chapter 14

PART FOUR – All Our Own

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Urbane and Capable ‘In all my forty years in politics, the Governor had always accepted the Premier’s advice.’

The Hannah affair had been blown up and exploited for political advantage for as long as Queensland’s Bjelke-Petersen government was locked in mortal combat with the Whitlam government in Canberra. Then the heat went out of the controversy. The Whitlam government was dismissed in November 1975 and was soundly defeated at the subsequent general election. As 1976 went by, the prospect of the Queen’s silver jubilee royal tour in March 1977 influenced even the invariably combative Bjelke-Petersen to allow the Hannah matter to be quietly forgotten.

Besides, a state election was looming. The premier might have been convinced that there was still political mileage in his accusations that a conspiracy between socialist governments in Canberra and London had denied Hannah an extension of his term. However, he also knew that many people, even those who supported Queensland’s conservative government, had been offended

by Sir Colin’s indiscretion. It was time to move on, time to avoid further controversy, at least until after the election.

It was therefore time to accept that even if Sir Colin wanted an extension (which he did not2), his term would not be renewed by the Queen. It was time to find a new governor, a man (there is no evidence that a woman was considered, even momentarily) who would be ‘sound’ and ‘safe.’ He would have to be a man whose appointment could not be criticised, ideally a man from outside Queensland who owed no favours to anyone within the state.

Well informed political commentator Hugh Lunn wrote that he had been told by his sources ‘Many people in official State circles were very embarrassed by Sir Colin’s remarks. So the people at the top in Queensland, including Joh, wanted to make sure there was no risk of this happening again. They wanted a bloke who was tried and trusted, conservative and established. A pure white skin who is not going to rock the boat at all.’3 If that was true, they found the right man in Sir James Maxwell Ramsay.

His appointment as Queensland’s twentieth governor was announced on 4 February 1977. Significantly, the announcement came a month ahead of the Queen’s visit. That removed any tension that would have persisted as long as there was any possibility of Bjelke-Petersen persevering with his attempts to have Sir Colin re-appointed. The announcement of the new appointment obviously closed off that possibility.

Left: Sir Walter Campbell, a man of truly heroic proportions, ideally equipped to be a governor.

Sir James immediately began to pour oil on the troubled waters. In his first media interviews as governor-designate he made it clear that he was ‘unashamedly conventional and traditionalist.’4 He said politics was not part of his job. ‘I do not think that politics should be involved in the post of governor, and as far as I am concerned, it is not. You have got to keep politics out of any such appointment.’5 Ramsay was as good as his word. He did his best to keep politics out of his job, although events were to prove that even if governors were strictly impartial they could not always avoid becoming enmeshed in constitutional issues. After all, that was still the core business

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of the governors. The idiosyncratic Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen regarded the governors as pawns that he could manipulate to best political advantage and that inevitably drew the governors into controversies that went to the heart of Queensland’s governance.

In every other respect, Sir James succeeded in keeping the office of governor out of the arena of controversy and in putting it back into the affections of Queenslanders. Sir James was the healing successor to Sir Colin. He was affable and urbane, old fashioned perhaps, but a man nobody could dislike. As an old naval man, he would have been happy to think that in his eight year term he put the office of Governor of Queensland back on an even keel.

He had been a naval man for a long time. Born in Hobart in 1916, he was just 13 years old when he joined the Royal Australian Navy as a Cadet Midshipman.

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Left: Sir James and Lady Ramsay.

Above, right: Sir James Ramsay with Sallyanne Atkinson, Lord Mayor of Brisbane.

Below, right: The jovial Sir James, at the theatre.

Chapter Fourteen – urbane and capable

He did well at the naval college at Jervis Bay and passed out in 1933 with first class honours and several prizes. A distinguished naval career followed. During World War Two he was involved in the battle that ended with the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck. He was in Singapore shortly before it fell, then in the Java Sea just before the Japanese sank the HMAS Perth. Later in the war, he served in the Middle East and Pacific. He was in action again during the Korean War, winning the Distinguished Service Cross and appointment to the American Legion of Merit for his command of the Australian destroyer Warramunga, which rescued two American minesweepers that were under heavy enemy fire.

In peacetime, he undertook training in Britain and the United States; he was Australian Naval Representative in Britain and he was honorary aide to both the Queen and the Governor-General Sir William Slim. In November 1945, Ramsay married Janet Burley, daughter of Fred Burley who had established the very successful Berlei women’s underwear manufacturing business. The couple had four children – David, Susan, Judith and Virginia.

Ramsay’s last posting was Naval Officer Commanding, Western Australia based in Fremantle where he commenced duty in 1968. In 1972, he retired from the navy and settled in Perth. In June 1974, he was appointed LieutenantGovernor of Western Australia and acted as Administrator for more than a year in 1974 and again in 1976 during the illness of the governor of the state. His work in that role was widely applauded in Western Australia and in 1976 he was knighted for those services.6 His experience in the position of acting governor was said to have been a significant factor in the Queensland government’s decision to put Ramsay’s name forward for consideration by the Queen for appointment as its state governor.

Sir James and Lady Ramsay arrived in Brisbane by air on 22 April 1977 and, later that day, Sir James was sworn in by Chief Justice Sir Mostyn Hanger, who had been acting as governor since Sir Colin Hannah’s retirement a month before.

The Ramsays quickly won popularity in Queensland. Sir James set a goal of visiting every one of the state’s local government areas during his term. He and Lady Ramsay actually achieved that within three years. They also managed to visit each of Queensland’s lighthouses, which were still staffed by people who were doing some of the loneliest jobs in the state.

The highlight of Sir James’ public and ceremonial activities while governor came in September and October 1982, with the holding of the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane. The governor hosted a visit by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh during the Games and to a considerable extent Sir James was the face of Queensland during the highly successful activity. Many Queenslanders claim that the Games marked the beginning of the state’s modern era. The international sporting festival projected Queensland, particularly Brisbane, to a world audience. Achievements like the opening of the Queen Street pedestrian mall, the opening of the Queensland Art Gallery and the construction of the Southbank cultural centre were visible evidence of the capital city’s maturity and sophistication. The Games marked the beginning of sustained population growth in the state, from 2.424 million people in 1982 to over three million in 1992. With that increased population came jobs growth and a strong dividend flow from the resources sector as the long-standing promise of Queensland’s

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mineral wealth started to come true. Queenslanders were feeling good about themselves and about their state and their governor, the jovial Sir Jim Ramsay.

There was only one blot on the governor’s copybook. As had happened before in Queensland, constitutional difficulties arose because of the internal decay and disunity of a government that had been in office for a long time. The Country (later National) and Liberal parties coalition had been in power since 1957. By 1983, there were clear signs that the coalition was disintegrating. The development was welcomed by the National Party leader, Premier Joh BjelkePetersen, who saw a chance for his party to govern in its own right, free of any partnership with the irksome Liberal Party.

In August 1983, a motion from a Liberal back bench member of parliament paved the way for debate about the establishment of a Public Accounts Committee – a proposal that was anathema to the premier. The motion was supported by Liberal minister Terry White, who was then dismissed from the ministry by the governor on the premier’s advice. In a show of defiance of the premier, the Liberal parliamentarians then voted to replace their own leader, Dr Llew Edwards, who had sided with the premier. White was elected Liberal leader. At the same time, parliament was adjourned indefinitely.

Bjelke-Petersen had thrived on confrontation, now he confronted the Liberal Party. He refused to accept White back into cabinet and said that the Liberals had breached the coalition agreement by electing White as their leader. The Liberal Party state executive then declared that the premier’s actions had ended the coalition and it called on all Liberal ministers to resign their portfolios.

Bjelke-Petersen saw a chance to destroy the coalition and to eventually entice enough of the Liberals to join the National Party, which would give the Nationals the numbers to govern in their own right. On 15 August, six of the seven former Liberal ministers met with the premier to deliver their resignations. However, the premier claimed that ‘when (they) came into my office ... I knew quite well that most of them did not want to resign. I said to them “Would you be interested if I could get the Governor to refuse to accept your resignations?” Obviously, the premier’s strategy was to create an impression that the governor, not the premier, had refused the resignations and this would justify the former ministers in carrying on, contrary to the directions of their own party. The premier was going to hide behind the governor’s skirts, even if he dragged those skirts through political mud.

Bjelke-Petersen claimed that for the former Liberals it was an attractive proposition. He wrote in his memoirs: ‘A few of them spoke up at once and said “That would be fantastic Joh.” ... So that is what I did. In the morning I sent a couple of my people up to sound out the governor, Sir James Ramsay, on what I had in mind and I went up to see him myself in the afternoon. We sat and talked about the matter at length ... He said he did not want to be dragged into a political wrangle by refusing to accept the resignations, but I replied “Well, Your Excellency, I can tell you for sure you will get dragged into one of you do accept the resignations.” ... I reasoned that the Governor had to take my advice. ... (at first) I could not get him to agree with me. He asked me to allow him an hour to consider the matter. As agreed, I phoned him ... he told me he had decided to go along with my advice after all, and would refuse the Liberal ministers’ resignations.’7

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Above, top: Lady Ramsay planting a tree at Brisbane Girls Grammar School, in memory of school lives lost in a bus accident.

Below: The Ramsays admire a teapot that was presented to them at an exhibition in the re-opened Brisbane School of Arts.

Opposite, top left: Lady Ramsay sets an example with a blood pressure check.

Below: Sir James with a Girl Guide guard of honour.

Far right: Sir James as Queensland’s Chief Scout, at the Landsborough camp, Easter 1978.

Chapter Fourteen – urbane and capable

It was not a wise decision on the governor’s part. Ministers have a right to resign and their resignations cannot be refused if they insist upon them.

The governor ought to have told the premier that he, the premier, should have either accepted or rejected the resignations and should have taken the responsibility for that decision himself. It is well established that the composition of the cabinet is a political matter for the premier and it is entirely up to the premier to decide whether to accept a resignation or not.

It was quite wrong to try to create the impression that the decision was taken in the exercise of the governor’s own discretion. The governor should not have allowed that situation to arise. In the words of constitutional authority D.J. Markwell, ‘The premier’s involvement of the Governor left the Governor, rather than the Premier or the resigning ministers, being presented and seen as making the decision that the ministers must stay – a decision about the internal composition of the government, which was a political matter for the Premier himself to settle.’8 The immediate aftermath was that the governor was drawn into a political maelstrom he should have avoided. Several of the former ministers claimed their resignations had been declined by the governor, that they were therefore still ministers and could not resign again, no matter what direction they might have from their party. In the end, the political coalition that had been created in 1957 was terminated. The governor agreed to the formation of a minority National Party government and this held office until elections were eventually held on 22 October. The election did not give the National Party an outright majority in the new parliament. However, two of the former Liberal ministers

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soon defected from the Liberal Party and joined the National Party. This delivered government to the National Party in its own right.

Sir James Ramsay was sternly criticised by some commentators for his unquestioning compliance with the premier’s advice. That compliance delivered considerable political advantage to the premier. Clearly, the governor’s agreement not to accept the Liberal resignations was inappropriate because he should have insisted on that issue being settled in the political arena. Similarly, it was not appropriate for the governor to agree to the formation of a minority government without insisting that the arrangement of the political numbers should be tested in the parliament. Sir James also ought not to have agreed to a nine week interval between the adjournment of parliament and the holding of an election, particularly as the interval spanned the time when the state budget should have been brought down.

The governor’s acquiescence in such a long interval favoured the new National Party government. It allowed that government to establish its own legitimacy and to maximise the advantages of incumbency.9 Governor Ramsay had stumbled through the constitutional obstacle race.

Sir James served as governor until July 1985. He and Lady Ramsay retired to the Gold Coast, where Sir James died following a heart attack on 1 May 1986.

Lady Ramsay remained very active within a number of Queensland community organisations until 1993, when she returned to Perth to live closer to two of her children. She died there in 2003.

Governors Hannah and Ramsay had both made errors of judgement and they had both allowed themselves to be exploited by the wily Joh Bjelke-Petersen.

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Above, left: The Ramsays with guests Prince Phillip and Her Majesty the Queen.

Above, right: The Ramsays with the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Right: Sir Walter Campbell inspects the Hay Point coal loading facility, near Mackay.

Chapter Fourteen – urbane and capable

The former premier wrote in his memoirs ‘In all my forty years in politics, the Governor had always accepted the Premier’s advice.’10 Bjelke-Petersen clearly believed that the governors were always obliged to do his bidding, especially if they were governors he thought owed their appointments to him. His experiences with the compliant Governors Hannah and Ramsay confirmed his belief. However, Ramsay’s successor, Sir Walter Campbell, was a very different man. He was to refuse to allow himself to be manipulated or bullied. He was to show a disbelieving Bjelke-Petersen that governors did not always have to take the premier’s advice, especially if that advice was unconstitutional.

When Campbell died in 2004, he was described by one of his successors as Chief Justice of Queensland, Paul de Jersey, as a man of ‘truly heroic proportion ... admirably equipped for life by remarkable personal qualities, especially intellect, courage and urbanity ... he was extremely well read, a compelling public speaker, a congenial, effervescent, stylish man, irresistibly drawing others warmly towards him; full of encouragement and reassurance for those with aspirations, especially the young ... public service was this man’s passion.’11 The words were spoken during a eulogy, but they were irrefutable. It is beyond argument that Campbell was one of the most brilliant figures in the public life of post war Queensland.

Born in northern New South Wales in 1921, Campbell’s father, Archie, was one of the most highly decorated Australian Light Horsemen of World War One. The family moved to Toowoomba in 1925, but the death of Walter’s mother Leila disrupted the boy’s education and family life. However, in 1937 he was a student at Downlands College in Toowoomba and it was there that his mercurial all-round abilities were revealed to the world. For three consecutive years he played in the school’s First Fifteen; he was twice Dux of the School, he topped the state in Senior Latin, he was an Open Scholar, head prefect and a powerful debater. It was noted in the 1938 school magazine that ‘W. Campbell would have stirred the very stones of Rome to rise and mutiny ... his almost unrivalled power of impassioned oratory constantly kept audiences applauding his efforts.’12 It was perhaps obvious that his future was in the law. In 1940 he enrolled for an Arts-Law degree at the University of Queensland, but his studies were interrupted in 1941 when he joined the Royal Australian Air Force. He passed his pilot’s examination on 7 December 1941, on the day that Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbour and the war in the Pacific began. On 18 June 1942 he married Georgina Pearce, also of Toowoomba. Campbell was then sent to Tasmania to become a Flight Instructor but was badly injured in a plane crash.

While recuperating, he was able to finish his Arts degree. Toward the very end of the war he commanded a Liberator bomber squadron, but he never flew combat missions. He returned to the university, played A grade football, edited the student newspaper Semper Floreat, led the university’s debating team and topped the last two years of the law course, graduating in 1948 with first class honours. Along the way, he won a Master of Arts degree. He became a part-time lecturer in law while still an undergraduate and was to continue in that role for 19 years. Later, he was appointed to the university’s Senate and finally was Chancellor of the university for nine years.

Campbell was admitted as a barrister in 1948 and was immediately successful, despite a paucity of work for barristers at the time and the competition of

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many colleagues who were also men of notable ability. ‘Solicitors found Campbell a delight to work with, clients found him charming, courteous and brilliant. He appeared in many important cases before the High Court and the Privy Council.’13 He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1960, and was then appointed a judge of the Queensland Supreme Court in 1967. In 1979, he was knighted for distinguished service to the law, government and education.14 In 1982, Campbell became Chief Justice in controversial circumstances which revealed the chasm which was then opening between the governing coalition parties. The Liberal Party, juniors in the coalition but in possession of the portfolio of Attorney-General, sought to appoint Justice James Douglas as the state’s new Chief Justice to replace Charles Wanstall. Douglas was the next most senior judge after Wanstall and was generally thought to be his logical successor. However, Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen favoured a junior judge, Dormer (Bob) Andrews, who had not long before been elevated from the District Court bench. The issue provoked a bitter dispute between the coalition partners. Bjelke-Petersen claimed to have evidence that Douglas had once voted Labor, a fatal disqualification in the mind of the premier. Eventually, Campbell was chosen as a compromise candidate and Bjelke-Petersen pushed through Campbell’s appointment, against Liberal opposition. Bjelke-Petersen probably had in mind that Campbell would only hold the high office until Andrews could be appointed.

Despite the controversial circumstances of his appointment, Campbell was an entirely suitable choice for the role and he quickly became an outstanding leader of the Supreme Court. However, in 1985 Campbell was appointed Governor of Queensland and Andrews became Chief Justice in his place.

Sir Walter soon proved himself to be the ideal governor. As Sir Harry Gibbs, Campbell’s former colleague at the Queensland bar and then Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, said: ‘He’s intelligent. He’s got an easy going nature,

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Above, left: Downlands school First Fifteen, 1939, Wally Campbell in centre at front.

Above, centre: Correct weight! Sir Walter, with Queensland Turf Club chairman Sir Edward Williams, at the opening of the QTC Racing museum.

Above, right: Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen used Governors Ramsay and Hannah as pawns in his political game, but he met his match in Sir Walter Campbell.

Right, below: Sir Walter Campbell in the navigator’s seat of an F111 fighter plane at Amberley air base.

Military aviation had come a long way since young Wally Campbell trained as a pilot in 1941.

Chapter Fourteen – urbane and capable

he’s not naturally abrasive. He’s very good in company. He’s an easy mixer. He’s almost the ideal choice for governor. He’s a good speaker. Comports himself well in public and at the same time mixes easily with the public. What more could you have?’15 As governor, Campbell travelled widely, he spoke readily and always with wit and style. He engaged warmly with people from all walks of life and he was well supported by Lady Campbell, who carried out her role with particular dedication. She took seriously her obligation to the many organisations that came under her patronage and wherever she went she took care to deliver a speech that was carefully crafted for the occasion. If there was criticism of the Campbells, it was that they insisted on strict compliance with protocol. In Sir Walter’s view, protocol upheld the office of governor, just as formality and protocol was a necessary part of the legal system.

By 1987, it was apparent that Queensland’s National Party government was in its death throes. Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen (knighted in 1984) had launched a ‘Joh for Canberra’ campaign that began in fantasy and ended in humiliation.

Sir Joh’s judgment and his value as party leader were increasingly questioned.

Tensions heightened between the premier and the organisational wing of the party, and between the premier and some of his own parliamentarians who were pressing for the adoption of more progressive social policies. It appeared that the premier could not even command a secure majority within his own cabinet. Bjelke-Petersen was clearly losing his grip on his party and was probably also losing his grip on reality. Instead of voluntarily resigning before he was forced to do so, he devised desperate schemes to cling to power.

On 23 November 1987, Bjelke-Petersen delivered a letter to the governor proposing that he would resign as premier and that all the members of the existing ministry should be dismissed. ‘At the same time I seek a further commission from Your Excellency to form a new administration.’ Bjelke-Petersen was seeking a way of creating a new ministry from which five previously troublesome ministers would be omitted. His scheme would enable him to get rid of the unwanted ministers without having to personally dismiss them.

Campbell refused to agree to the premier’s proposal. The governor expressed the opinion that the proper course was for the premier to discuss the proposed reorganisation of his government with his cabinet and then to request the resignation of the ministers he did not want. Campbell’s reaction was that a democratically elected leader had to both gain and retain his majority. He regarded Sir Joh’s strategy as an improper use of constitutional procedures to manipulate power. The governor obtained comment from other National Party politicians and that advice confirmed that Sir Joh no longer had the support of his parliamentary party.

Then Sir Walter warned the premier that if he resigned, he (Campbell) would need to be satisfied that Sir Joh and his new ministry had the confidence of parliament before he as governor would re-commission Sir Joh. The frustrated premier left Government House in high dudgeon. Next day, he returned with advice that three ministers who had refused to resign voluntarily should be dismissed. Sir Walter eventually agreed to this request, on the basis that constitutional convention required that a minister should resign when a premier demanded that resignation.

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In the meantime, there were moves to convene a meeting of the parliamentary wing of the National Party at which all positions would be declared vacant. It was clear that if the party meeting elected a new leader, Sir Joh would retain his commission as premier until the governor took action, either to force the premier to prove his majority in parliament or to appoint a caretaker premier.

To forestall any such action by the governor, Sir Joh endeavoured to contact the Queen, probably to ask for the governor’s removal. British authorities refused to allow the Queen to be involved and expressed their confidence in the governor.

On 26 November, the parliamentary party met and quickly elected a new leader, Mike Ahern. Sir Walter then came under pressure to dismiss Sir Joh, but he declined to do so before the parliament met again in the following week. Sir Walter’s view was that parliament was the proper place for settling the matter, if Sir Joh could not be persuaded to resign gracefully. The governor made clear that before he would commission anyone as premier he would need to be satisfied that person could command a majority in parliament and the floor of parliament was the only place where that could be determined.

Queensland was now in the position of having ‘a Premier who is not leader’ and ‘a Leader who is not Premier.’16 Sections of the media condemned the governor for ‘leaving Queensland in chaos’ and refusing to intervene to restore effective government. However, constitutional authorities were strongly of the view that the governor was acting perfectly correctly in saying that the matter should be resolved by the parliament. Finally, the saga ended at 4.00 pm on 1 December when Sir Joh delivered his resignation to Sir Walter, effective immediately.17 Sir Walter accepted the resignation and wished the retiring premier the best of luck for the future. Sir Joh was not so gracious. According to his autobiography, Bjelke-Petersen handed Campbell his resignation letter. ‘After he had read it, I said to him “Well, Wally, old fella, you ought to be proud of yourself. You have done a mighty job and I want to congratulate you. In the years to come I hope you have many proud, happy memories of what you have done. Good on you old fella. Cheerio.” With that, I turned my back on Campbell and as I was walking out of the room I said to his secretary “I’ll never darken these doors again,” I won’t either, so long as the present incumbent remains in Government House.’18 Bjelke-Petersen’s autobiography betrays the truth that the long serving premier had little understanding of constitutional niceties and even less respect for them. He thought that because he had appointed Campbell he was owed a favour. He also thought that the governor was obliged to act on whatever advice the premier gave. When Campbell drew a distinction between constitutionally proper advice and advice that was designed to manipulate the system, ‘it left a very sour taste’ in Sir Joh’s mouth. ‘If there was one decision I made as premier which I later regretted it was the appointment of Wally Campbell ...’19 Campbell for his part had acted entirely correctly. He had shown that the governor was not a mere cipher or a pawn in the political game. His actions were courageous because his decision to insist that the problem be resolved by political processes put him under sustained pressure from the premier and some sections of the media. ‘His intellectual command of the powers and requirements of his office and his personal skills enabled the State decently to manage the relinquishing of power by one of the most wilful leaders of the time.’20

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Below: Lady Campbell at a children’s centre.

Right, above: The Campbells at Government House.

Lady Campbell enjoyed gardening and established a camellia garden at Fernberg.

Centre: The Campbells with Her Majesty the Queen.

Below: The Campbells. Lady Campbell often related that when she first saw her future husband with his dark hair, well-trimmed moustache and stylish trenchcoat ‘she thought he looked like Clark Gable.’

Chapter Fourteen – urbane and capable

Sir Walter’s term expired on 28 July 1992. He and Lady Campbell retired to suburban Brisbane where Sir Walter died in 2004. Lady Campbell died in 2006. She had taken a particular interest in the enhancement of Government House and was responsible for the erection of a new eastern verandah, to the original design of architect Benjamin Backhouse. They were survived by their children Deborah and Wallace. Their son Peter predeceased them.

There had been several very significant constitutional changes during the Ramsay and Campbell years. The Hannah affair had made a number of points of constitutional law clearer in Queensland than they had been before. The state’s leaders did not welcome all the implications of the clarification. In particular, it became apparent that the Queen appointed Queensland’s governors on the advice of the British government. There was a concern that a British government might be persuaded by a government in Canberra to give advice that could be contrary to the wishes of the Queensland government.

There was also concern that the British government could be persuaded to change the method of appointment of state governors so that they could in future be appointed by the Governor-General acting on the advice of the Commonwealth government. There was a related anxiety that the British government might amend some of Queensland’s fundamental constitutional provisions. In 1977, in response to these concerns, the Queensland constitution was amended. The amendments entrenched the Queen and her governors into the state’s law making processes. They also provided that the office of governor could not be altered or abolished without a referendum and that the governors should not be limited in their sources of advice on questions of appointment or dismissal of ministers. The whole scheme was devised to prevent the Commonwealth government from repealing or varying any British laws relating to the state.21 It was perhaps paradoxical that these changes confirmed a situation whereunder the monarch appointed Queensland’s governors on the advice of British, not Queensland, ministers. However, the Queensland government of the time thought continuing British involvement was to be preferred to any possibility of a hostile Commonwealth government having a role in these processes.

It was not until the Australia Acts (complementary legislation of both the British and Australian parliaments) were passed in 1986 that Queensland and the other states gained decisive and unequivocal rights to directly and exclusively advise the monarch on the appointment of their own state governors. Although state premiers like Bjelke-Petersen might have previously thought that they advised the monarch on these matters, the Hannah case demonstrated that they had been mistaken. The 1986 laws provided that state governors should be appointed by Her Majesty acting only on the advice of the relevant state premier. It was confirmed that there would be no role for any Commonwealth or British government in advising on the appointment or termination of state governors.22 Sir Walter Campbell had been the last Queensland governor to be appointed by the Queen on the advice of the British government. His successor, Leneen Forde, was to be first governor to be appointed by the Queen on the direct advice of the Queensland government.

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