Sam Mostyn

speaker

313 appearances 1 recordings 1 series first heard Aug 2026 last heard 1 Aug

Sam Mostyn’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 1 in all, peaking in Aug 2026 with 1.

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Full Story · Governor general Sam Mostyn on the ‘growing catastrophe’ in our democracy · 1 Aug 2026 podcast

And so it's a very trusting, respectful relationship, but we have to know our two different roles.

And I'm always conscious that I am the non-elected part of this system.

And so I have very specific roles that must be about holding confidence and part of the checks.

We have this mosaic of checks and balances in our system of which I play a part.

But ultimately, the Australian people determine who's in their parliaments and if they don't like what they're seeing and believe that should change, that's something that they do in elections.

What I've done in my term, though, is also say to the Federal Electoral Commissioner, as some of my predecessors have done, is I've chosen not to vote for this period.

And so I've sought an exemption so I don't go to a ballot box during this period because I want to be really clear that I have no politics whatsoever.

appointed by a particular Prime Minister, but I do not carry the politics of the government.

I'm part of a system that takes my advice and counsel from the executive, whoever that executive is over time.

And so I want to be totally beyond politics.

I don't want to go and get a democracy sausage and be asked who I'm voting for.

But I did need to seek permission from the Electoral Commissioner.

That's so interesting.

And not to be fined.

And my reason was I want to be able to tell every Australian that I don't show any political preference during the course of my time as Governor-General.

Everyone who has served in this job would talk about the honour and privilege.

I didn't ever expect to be Australia's Governor-General.

It is an immense privilege and honour.

The opportunity I have to meet Australians wherever they are, whatever their lives are, and to meet and to sit and listen is one of the great privileges in addition to all of my other roles.

And so to travel the country, every part of it, and to meet Australians is almost one of the great joys of the job.

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