After 100 days in office, Australia's Governor-General is hopeful about Australia's future, despite conflict and difficulty dominating headlines.
In an interview at the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia Conference in Brisbane, Her Excellency the Honourable Sam Mostyn told SBS Examines her thoughts on social cohesion, optimism, and the role of the monarchy.
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28/10/202407:01
'A commitment to caring for one another'
Admist growing challenges to social cohesion, Mostyn said a focus on "care and optimism and respect and inclusion" would provide "a pathway through for Australia".
"It's not a soft care," she said.
"It's a commitment to caring for one another, caring for those that care, but caring for our civic institutions and caring for the way we conduct ourselves in the tough discussions and conversations that we're having as a country.
"We can convince ourselves that we're becoming less socially cohesive, or we can look optimistically at those that are teaching us to care for one another, to carefully listen to one another's difference of opinions, and to engage respectfully and with a deep sense of inclusion."
Mostyn urged Australians not to "allow the tropes of division to drive an outcome that none of us in Australia would want".
She believes complacency is a "big issue" and hopes Australians can "reconnect with the institutions that make us significantly stronger".
"We are such a fortunate country, gifted with so many advantages, that I think complacency is a big issue when it comes to why we don't understand, as we should, why our civics and institutions really matter," she said.
For Mostyn, there were "three intersecting stories" to consider.
"[The] 65,000 years of culture First Nations People shared so generously with us, combined with the British institutions that give us our Constitution, our Westminster system of government, compulsory voting, and an independent electoral commission . . . and then the great multicultural migrant story, refugee story, of the last half-century or more.
"If Australians sat for a moment and reflected on the power of those three intersecting stories, and then thought about what it is that makes us such a peaceful, prosperous and optimistic country — really, at its core, it is our institutions and our civics."
A major concern for Mostyn is Australians giving up on understanding the Constitution and the "series of principles that underpin the security of the nation".
'A modern King, a modern Governor-General and a modern Australia'
As the Governor-General, Mostyn is Australia's representative of His Majesty King Charles III.
She described King Charles as an "optimistic, modern King," and said one of the great opportunities of her role was sharing "the story of great success that is uniquely Australian" with His Majesty.
"A lot of the stability of our system emanates from our constitutional monarchy, and the fact that we have such a free and open democracy," she said.
Mostyn added that King Charles "cares deeply about the country, and he cares about the way Australians want this country to proceed," referring to his about the prospect of Australia becoming a republic.
"Constitutional arrangements are matters for the Australian public ... should there ever be a moment where the public seeks to have that question asked again, that is a matter for all Australians."
