I just cant believe he wont step down - I'm losing more respect for the G-G as time goes by.
Right or wrong - whether you feel the position is as an important a position that it is - the damage he is doing to it as an institiution is regrettable.
82 per cent want G-G sacked By staff writers May 06, 2003
FOUR in five Australians believe the Prime Minister should sack Governor-General Peter Hollingworth if he does not resign, a NEWS.com.au poll has found.
Hollingworth ... earns $310,000 a year / File
The poll, conducted yesterday, found 82 per cent of respondents thought John Howard should remove Dr Hollingworth from his post in the wake of a report that the former archbishop allowed a sex abuser to stay in the priesthood.
The poll showed 19 per cent thought Dr Hollingworth should be retained in his $310,000-a-year position.
Meanwhile, the number of senior federal government figures refusing to back Dr Hollingworth is growing, with Tourism Minister Joe Hockey the latest to urge the Governor-General to consider the interests of the nation when deciding his future.
While Mr Howard continued to stonewall questions on Dr Hollingworth's future, Mr Hockey joined Treasurer Peter Costello and Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson in calling on him to consider his options. "I hope the Governor-General thinks carefully about the issue. I've read the report . . . and it is a damning report," Mr Hockey said yesterday.
"It is a very difficult and complex situation. Dr Hollingworth is under tremendous pressure at the moment and he has to very, very carefully consider the interests of the nation."
Two senior ministers, Defence Minister Robert Hill and Health Minister Kay Patterson, refused to be drawn into increasing pressure on Dr Hollingworth.
Anglican Primate Peter Carnley said last night it was not up to Mr Howard to sack the Governor-General but for Dr Hollingworth to decide his own fate. While refusing to call for his resignation, he said the "negative publicity" was "not very helpful to the church".
"It is uncomfortable for us in the church and the quicker the matter is resolved the better, of course, but that is out of our hands," Dr Carnley said.
Mr Howard, in New York after meeting President George W. Bush, continued to back Dr Hollingworth.
"There is nothing in his conduct as Governor-General, and indeed no proper basis in relation to other matters, for me to recommend to the Queen that his commission be terminated," Mr Howard said.
The Prime Minister will meet the Queen later this week when he arrives in London but is not planning to discuss the issue.
The Democrats have raised the possibility that the Senate could use its powers under parliamentary standing orders to contact the Queen directly, bypassing Mr Howard. It is believed the Democrats partyroom will discuss the possibility as a way of applying further pressure.
Mr Costello repeated his view yesterday that Dr Hollingworth's actions when he was archbishop of Brisbane were unacceptable and said he had the option to resign.
"He has recognised that as archbishop of Brisbane he should have taken a firmer line against priests who had molested children," he said.
While refusing to back Dr Hollingworth, Mr Costello continued to emphasise that the Governor-General's lapse in judgment was behind him and that he had conducted himself well in his present post.
Senator Hill said: "He acknowledged that certainly he had made some errors of judgment, he's obviously thinking about that."
"In terms of the job he's been doing as Governor-General, I think he's been doing that appropriately
