Australia's Governor-General Quentin Bryce “is seeking advice on concerns raised about her personal position in the current political circumstances,” it was announced on Monday.
Her daughter is married to Bill Shorten, a prominent politician in the ruling Labour camp.
The Governor-General's action was widely interpreted in the Australian political circles as a precautionary move to set at rest any potential “concerns” about a “conflict of interest” involving her and the Labour party.
The Governor-General's official website carried the unusual announcement. It was said “the Solicitor-General has now agreed to provide advice on this matter to the Governor-General”.
Meanwhile, Labour and the opposition Liberal-National Coalition continued to checkmate each other in the race to form government.
The final official results were still awaited. .
The Australian Electoral Commission said the counting of voter-declarations, including postal ballot, was still not complete. In all, these two categories together accounted for nearly two million votes, the total electorate being over 14 million.
