EMBARGO: 9. OO-PM ( f.
FOR MEDIA THURSDAY, 22 JULY 1982
FAREWELL DINNER FOR SIR ZELMAN COWEN
It is a great pleasure for all of us to be with you and
Lady Cowen this evening. I know that Australians everywhere
join with us in congratulating you on the successful way in
which you have carried out the duties of Governor-General
and in thanking you for the contribution you have made to
the public life of our country during your term of office.
Your Excellency, you camne to the office of Governor-General
with a distinguished record as an academic, a Vice-Chancellor
of two universities, and as~ a lawyer, and with an unusual
breadth of experience.
By looking through a list of your publications it is easy
to see what a broad range of interests you have. You have
written a number of'notable biographies including a biography
of the first. Australian born Governor -General, Sir Isaac Isaacs3,
and papers ont issues as wide-ranging as the law, education,
Commonwealth and international affairs. And I note
you have written one paper with the rather unusual title
of " From the Trial of Lady Chatterly to the Trial of Oz".
Your broad initerests and your background as a notable
constitutional lawyer have enabled you to serve as Governor-
General not o~ nly with distinction, but with aknowledge and
true understanding of the importance of the office of
Governor-General. It is an office which is of great
significance to Australians. As the Queen's representative,
the Governor--General must perform the duties of the Crown
with impartiality, and with dedication to the community.
The Queen has set an example to all her representatives
in that. re -spect. I think you, Your Excellency, have followed
her example iLn a way which has helped ensure that Australians
will retain -their faith and support for our constitution and
for the continuation of the role of the Crown in our constitution.
It should also be said that your determination to remain above
national debates has won you the respect and admiration of
people from both sides of politics. You yourself, Sir,
said only yesterday that to describe the Office of Governor-
General as a rubber stamp was ani " uninformed and f~ oolish
statement". I agree wholeheartedly with you. The constitution
provides the ultimate protection of the liberties and rights
of individual Australians. There are many ways in which the
Governor-General by deliberate decision of our forefathers is
the custodia~ n of those rights. * Tvrthermore,' as President of the
Executive Council he can have an influence on the thinking
of Ministers and play a part in making sure they discharge
their responsibilities in'the best interests of the community. ./ 2
-2
But the role of Governor-General extends beyond the
constitutional and ceremonial duties of the office. It is the
mark of a notable Governor-General that he has been able to
influence the community intellectually as a catalyst of ideas
and thought.
Your Excellency, your many speeches on a wide number of subjects
have done-just that. They have been stimulating, thought
provoking and widely appreciated by the community. You have
shown intellectual leadership and an ability to generate
new ideas, and that has always been done with a national
perspective, thereby drawing Australians together as
a nation.
I would also like to mention the very arduous programme
of public engagements you have undertaken. You have
travelled very widely around Australia, and have had a great
deal of contact with a large number of Australians. You
have brought the office of Governor-General to people in
every corner of the continent, and even to the Cocos and
Christmas Islands. I am sure that the community has been
grateful for the way you have involved yourself in its day to
day life and that the Office of Governor-General has
benefited as a result.
All these things have added up to one very important achievement.
That is you have helped to bring together Australians as a
nation, to help them look on themselves as part of a nation,
not as separate, parochial communities and to ' Aielp people of
different ideologies or opinions realise that they have,
in the end, one great cause, and that is Australia. You
said in your Australia Day Message in 1978 that the
Governor-General had the task of serving the Queen and the
nation " as a symbol of unity of all the people". In achieving
that, you have served the nation well.
I would also like to say what a great contribution Lady Cowen
has made to the office of Governor-General and Australia by
her active involvement in a number of areas, in particular
in welfare, and she has made a significant personal
contribution to public life in Australia.
Your Excellency, earlier this year you said th~ at Australians
must " concentrate our minds powerfully on what it is that
keeps us together". You, Sir, have done a great deal to
help us do that. On behalf of all Australians I wish
you well in your new position as provost of Oriel College,
Oxford. It is aposition I know you will find challenging
and stimulating. 000-