We had a VIP in the office this week: Australia’s highest official.

You’d be forgiven for thinking I’m talking about Prime Minister Anthony Albanese — but you’d also be wrong.

The mystery visitor was actually Sam Mostyn, Australia’s Governor-General.

Mostyn, appointed just over a year ago, has constitutional and ceremonial responsibilities, and acts as the King’s representative in Australia… but what does that actually mean?

I sat down with the Governor-General to unpack these questions. Here’s a snapshot of our conversation. To hear the interview in full, stay tuned for Monday’s podcast.

Mostyn uses four ‘Cs’ to define the position of Governor-General: “I have constitutional roles, ceremonial functions, community obligations… and I'm commander in chief of the Australian Defence Force,” she said.

She was appointed by our monarch, King Charles III, but chosen for the role by the Australian Prime Minister (as all Australian Governors-General are).

“I'm effectively a part of the Parliament,” Mostyn said. “I carry all of the constitutional functions that are held by the head of state, who is the King.”

One of her key constitutional responsibilities is giving ‘royal assent’ to legislation. After a bill has passed both houses of Parliament, it is sent to the Governor-General for approval.

“As I’m signing, I always think about the fact that in that moment… I'm giving effect to the will of the Australian people.”

She cannot debate or amend laws, however. Mostyn said she swore an oath to the King and the Australian people “about how I would conduct myself in the role, and that is with total impartiality and no politics.”

As Governor-General, Mostyn describes her personal views as “irrelevant.”

“It’s my job to fulfil the final step of the people’s elected representatives passing laws.”

Given the scope and unique nature of Mostyn’s role, how does she know if she’s doing a good job? And who is her boss?

Mostyn told TDA the answer isn’t as straightforward as a typical performance review.

“I've been appointed by someone who, under the constitution, is the head of state. And theoretically, I guess you could say that would make him my boss… but I think of the Australian public as my boss,” she said.

“I’m in a unique position where I have no politics, I have no policies, I have no money to administer. What I do is represent Australians in the administration of our constitutional system.”

Mostyn’s idea of success also hinges on improving Australian voters’ understanding of the parliamentary system.

The Governor-General said she’ll know she’s doing a good job “if I could see that more Australians were interested in how our democracy actually works and showed up as active, curious, animated citizens”.

While Australia has “a historical connection to the Monarch,” Mostyn insists this has “no bearing” on how she conducts herself.

“The King would never contact an Australian Governor-General to suggest how we should do anything,” she told TDA.

Similarly, “a Governor-General would never contact [Buckingham] Palace to ask for advice [about] anything that I administer under our Constitution.”

Instead, she takes advice and counsel from the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Mostyn said she’s met King Charles just a handful of times, and their conversations have never been about how to do her job.

During a visit to Buckingham Palace last year, Mostyn said the pair had “just under an hour together,” when they “sat to get to know one another.”

“He asked me how Australia was going, what I was seeing… It was both very important and also… just getting to know someone, person to person.”

Mostyn asked the King if he’d like her to occasionally write to him to keep him updated about what’s happening in Australia.

“He said that would be very good… but it was never a suggestion that we would write to each other for advice and counsel,” Mostyn noted.

As a representative of the Crown – a historic symbol of colonialism – how does Mostyn approach First Nations issues?

Mostyn said that when she was first asked to be Governor-General, she couldn’t consult with anyone outside her immediate family.

“I had to imagine what my conversations would be with First Nations Australians about why I would say yes to this job,” but once it was announced, she sought counsel from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups. The message was supportive, but with clear conditions, Mostyn explained.

“They said, ‘Of course you should do this job, but do it with the greatest of respect to our story. Create spaces of respect and belonging where we can continue to tell our stories.’ And that’s what I try to do.”

Mostyn acknowledged the pain some First Nations people associate with the Monarchy, and said she’s focused on acknowledging “the history of what happened through colonisation”.

“I respect First Nations people for whom the Crown is a real problem. I respect First Nations people for whom Australia Day is a problem. I would always acknowledge that for many, it’s a day of mourning,” Mostyn told TDA.

As Governor-General, she said she’s trying to be “as expansive, inclusive, and respectful as possible, “but understanding the role I represent for some provides a tension.”

“I will always open that conversation up to explain my role in this, and my sense of deep respect always for First Nations people and our history.”

When Mostyn was sworn in last year, she became the second woman to be appointed Governor-General. Prior to that, she held multiple high-level roles across her decades of experience in the private sector.

When she became the AFL’s first female Commissioner in 2005, critics called her a “quota pick”.

At least half of AFL fans were women, but the key decision makers in the league’s senior ranks were men. Mostyn said the AFL President ran a process to change that, recruiting 10 women for a series of interviews, until she was “the fortunate person to be appointed.”

“Many people wrote, ‘She lacks merit. This is simply a quota’… but the men on the commission before I was appointed were never put through a recruitment process,” she said.

Since Mostyn’s appointment, “every appointment to the commission is done through an interview process… it didn't happen before that,” she said.

“Sometimes we fix imbalances and inequalities by having to break the system, but do it in a way that is all about merit,” Mostyn added.

Nearly two decades later, she anticipated backlash with her appointment as Governor-General.

“I knew that there would be a torrent of that kind of abuse,” she said.

But as only the second woman to take up this role, compared to 26 men, Mostyn sees her appointment differently.

“The Prime Minister was reflecting the fact that we had to stop telling the country that only men could do this job.”

After a year in high office, I asked Mostyn to reflect on what she’s learned during her time as Governor-General so far.

“I think what I know now is that we are a much bigger, better united nation than I ever contemplated when I started,” she said.

“I get this incredible kaleidoscopic view of the country, and then I get to see it at fine grain when I go and visit communities and talk to people.”

She’s also learned to celebrate the positives.

“We do not have to crowd ourselves always with what might divide us… We need to keep telling ourselves a much bigger, better, mighty story and lock into that and then do the work.”

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