The events of November 1975 sparked off lively debate as to what the Governor-General does. The real point at issue in that controversy was not whether a Governor-General has the power to dismiss a Prime Minister. The fact that the power was exercised is proof that the power exists. The question to be asked is whether the Govenor-General was justified by the facts as he saw and interpreted them, and, if he were justified, whether he was wise to use the power. There is a difference between an extreme situation and a customary action. The controversy over the dismissal of a Prime Minister concentrated attention on one aspect, but in this lucid essay Sir Paul Hasluck sets out the wide range of the Governor-General's duties and the place of office in the whole structure of Australian government.

As Australia's first female Governor-General, Quentin Bryce handwrote more than fifty letters each week. She wrote to those she had met and connected with as her role took her from palaces to outback schools, from war zones to memorials, from intimate audiences to lavish ceremonies. She received even more letters from every corner of the country. Generous, witty and always heartfelt, her letter-writing skills were honed at boarding school, from where she would write to her parents every Sunday. Dear Quentin is a rich collection of the letters the Governor-General wrote and received during her six-year term to prime ministers Rudd and Gillard, VC Mark Donaldson, pals Anne Summers and Wendy McCarthy, Indigenous elders, war vets, Girl Guides, grandchildren, as well as the proud owner of a calf called Quentin. Royalties from this book will be donated to Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, making a real difference to child health through world-leading research and disease prevention.