Congratulations to our twenty-fourth Governor General, Michael Jeffery

The fact that it is one of the world's most successful, indeed one of the few that has actually worked for now over a century, just doesn't impress them. Writing in The Financial Review on 9-10 August, Brian Toohey proposes 14 ideas to improve Australia.

The 14th is to rewrite the Constitution to "reflect the reality that executive power lies with the prime minister and cabinet, not the governor general". But the document is hardly intended to be an elementary text in civics - it's a constitution after all!

Mr Toohey's purpose is more than using the Constitution as a text.

He says that the importance of clarifying these powers would increase under a republic with a high-profile president! Such as Cheryl Kernot?

The problem is, as Gareth Evans finally conceded, it is virtually impossible to do this and make the Constitution work as well as it does.

Better to start again - or just leave things as they are. And by the way, who says we want a high-profile president? I haven't seen crowds marching in the streets demanding this!

Mr Toohey's line of thought becomes clearer when he also suggests that consideration be given to "restraining executive power with a bill of rights". But experience shows that this too often results - as it has in the USA in unelected judges making laws the legislators would never dare introduce - because if they did, the people would throw them out at the next election.

Mr Toohey suggests that his 14 "bold ideas" could be embraced by any "progressive politician". It is true that republican politicians probably think of themselves as "progressive", but we suspect that rank-and-file Australians would use a different adjective.