An Aboriginal woman is probably going to be Australia’s next and last head of state. Lois O’Donoghue, chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, is the candidate favoured for the job of governor-general.
Prime Minister Paul Keating is due to reveal within weeks who will succeed the present governor-general, whose term as the Queen’s representative expires in February. If O’Donoghue is chosen, she will probably be Australia’s last governor-general because the government wants to turn the country into a republic.