Governor-General
On 13 April 2008 it was announced that, on the recommendation of Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, the Queen had approved her appointment as the next Governor-General of Australia. The decision was generally well received: current and previous Labor State Premiers supported her selection, and both the then Leader of the Opposition, Brendan Nelson, and the leader of the Australian Greens, Bob Brown, spoke in favour of the decision. Patricia Edgar described Bryce's selection as an "inspired choice", while Jill Singer in the Herald Sun stated that the decision signalled "an important about face for Australia".
There was some opposition to the appointment, in particular from columnist Des Houghton,who argued that she would bring a "fair bit of baggage" to the role (in reference to the controversies surrounding her time as the Governor of Queensland), and that she had failed to live up to her promise to be outspoken during her time at Government House. Concerns were also raised in August 2008, when it was revealed that Bryce intended to replace Malcolm Hazell, who had been the Official Secretary for both Major General Michael Jeffery and Dr. Peter Hollingworth, with Stephen Brady. Kevin Rudd defended Bryce's decision, arguing that she had the right to appoint a new Official Secretary.
Bryce was sworn in on 5 September 2008. On 24 October 2012 it was announced that her term had been extended until March 2014.
Read more about this topic: Quentin Bryce