The Governor-General’s staff testified during a Senate estimates committee that he had the right to host his daughter’s wedding reception at Government House, his official residence in Canberra.
On March 11, 2023, the reception for the wedding of Governor-General David Hurley’s daughter took place at Government House.
The general public is not permitted to rent the house.
During a Tuesday hearing before the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee, the office of the Governor-General defended using the location.
Official secretary Paul Singer told the committee, “Government House is the Governor-general’s house, and he is authorized to utilize it in that way.
Under questioning from Greens Senator David Shoebridge, he declared: “When there are more than six guests for a private function hosted at either Government House or Admiralty House [the Governor-General’s official residence in Sydney], the Governor-General is invoiced for the costs of that function.”
The committee learned that the Governor-General paid a $32,787.82 invoice for the wedding in May.
The Committee was informed that the invoice did not contain a charge for utilizing Government House, but it did include personnel expenditures, meals, reception, laundry, and utilities.
The committee was informed that additional expenses unrelated to Government House, such as a marquee on the lawns, were directly charged to the Governor-General.
What is the justification for excluding a cost for the venue’s actual booking, which is typically a sizable portion of anyone’s wedding expenses? Tuesday during Senate estimates, Senator Shoebridge put a question to Mr. Singer.
Senator Shoebridge claimed that in order to cover the expense of renting out Government House as a venue, the Governor-General should have gotten a market appraisal.
Because there was “no cost to the Commonwealth,” according to Mr. Singer, the Governor-General’s office would end up profiting from the event, which is “unethical and inappropriate.”
Senator Shoebridge disagreed.
Or, as Senator Shoebridge put it, “the other way of looking at it would involve the Commonwealth getting a fair return for the otherwise free use of a public asset.”
“A reasonable return on a public asset cannot be zero.
“Any other venue would be extremely expensive to book.”
