The woman chosen to be the King’s representative in Australia once tweeted supporting the republican movement.
Sam Mostyn, 59, deleted her social media presence before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the businesswoman, gender and climate activist was replacing General David Hurley as governor general last week.
But in a deleted tweet resurfaced on December 7, 2015, Mostyn praised former Republican Movement chairman Peter FitzSimmons for his work in severing ties with the British monarchy. The Australian reported.
“Passionate defense of the Australian republic @Peter-Fitz in Sydney today #ARM #AustralianRepublic #Australia #auspol,” he wrote.
FitzSimmons was president of the Republic Movement, an organization that advocated for an Australian Head of State, from 2015 until he resigned in 2022.
Mostyn (pictured left) was appointed as the next Governor General by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured right) and the businesswoman and climate activist will replace David Hurley.
Mostyn praised the work of former Australian Republic Movement president Peter FitzSimmons (pictured), who led the organization between 2015 and 2022.
The revelation comes after WhatsNew2Day Australia uncovered a trove of other posts he made on social media that shed light on his political views.
Ms Mostyn was a prominent supporter of Indigenous Voice in Parliament, organizing and participating in panels on the referendum alongside Yes campaigner Thomas Mayo.
She advocated for a Yes vote online, participated in Michael Long’s ‘Long Walk Oz’ to Canberra promoting the Indigenous advisory panel and joined virtual circles with Pat Anderson AO and Professor Megan Davis.
The main image on his X account was, for a long period of time, a sign that said: “We support the Uluru Declaration.”
And on January 25, 2020, Ms Mostyn wrote: “This January 26, NITV Sunrise Ceremony, 80,000 years of Australian history, wonderful panel discussing survival, truth, #invasionday and the future.”
She then included another hashtag that read: “#AlwaysWasAlwaysWillBe.”
Reconciliation Australia, a foundation focused on healing the divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, celebrated his appointment on Wednesday and revealed that, in addition to the long list of qualifications touted by the Prime Minister in his statement, he also served on its board of directors.
“Sam is a former board member of Reconciliation Australia (2007-2010) and has been a dedicated advocate for reconciliation, First Nations rights, climate change and many other causes throughout her career,” the organization said.
Mostyn made another post on 30 July 2022 after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese committed to the referendum in the Voice of Parliament and following the death of Aboriginal activist and singer Archie Roach.
She said: “I can’t think of a more bittersweet day: from the elation and hope that a Voice will be enshrined in our Constitution to the devastating and deep sadness at the loss of Archie Roach.”
“Australia cannot waste a moment in accepting the Uluru Declaration from the Heart.”
The main image on their X account was, for a long period of time, a sign saying “we support the Uluru Declaration”.
Ms Mostyn was a prominent supporter of Voice to Parliament, organizing and participating in panels on the referendum alongside controversial campaigner Thomas Mayo.
Mostyn also appeared to celebrate Teal’s election of independents in the 2022 federal election.
“In case you haven’t heard them roar yet,” she tweeted, sharing an article about the “pro-climate women who took on the Liberal Party and won.”
These were all removed when she was announced as incoming governor general on Wednesday.
Speaking about her appointment, Albanese said: ‘Ms Mostyn has had an extensive career in the Australian business community, including working at senior levels in telecommunications and insurance companies in Australia and around the world.
‘She also held senior non-executive positions on boards such as Transurban and Virgin Australia, and was chair of Citibank Australia. She currently chairs AWARE Super and Alberts Music Group and sits on the board of directors of Mirvac.
“Mrs Mostyn has been a commissioner of the Australian Football League (AFL) and a driving force behind the AFL Women (AFLW).” Her tweets show that she is crazy about the AFL and posts repeatedly about the league.
Albanese was widely expected to appoint an indigenous Australian to the position of Governor-General, and Mostyn’s announcement came as a surprise.
She and Albanese have a long-standing professional relationship due to her high-level roles as chair of the Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce and on the board of the Climate Change Authority.
In September 2023, as the Prime Minister faced scrutiny over his friendship with embattled Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce, Mostyn was named in a manifesto for Albanese’s VIP flight.
Ms Mostyn was a prominent supporter of Voice to Parliament, organizing and participating in panels on the referendum alongside controversial campaigner Thomas Mayo.
He joined Joyce and Albanese on a private flight back to Sydney after the Jobs and Skills Summit, along with other VIPs including the CEO of Rio Tinto and the chairman of Telstra.
Mr Albanese said at the time: “They were sent an invoice, they paid for their own travel and they sat together while I had a meeting about the Jobs and Skills Summit in a different section of the plane.”
She was also seen at the Prime Minister’s victory party after winning the 2022 election.
Mostyn has long been vocal about her ambitions to see positive change in Canberra after working as a political adviser to two ministers and Prime Minister Paul Keating.
At the time she was completely bewildered by the culture in Canberra and told Zoe Daniel, independent for Teal, that she was repeatedly propositioned by sitting senators.
She said: ‘There was a feeling that everything was fair game.
‘On a couple of occasions I was invited to have coffee with Australians by backbenchers and I picked up my pen and paper thinking they were interested in communications policy.
“A couple of them said, ‘Yeah, are you willing to have an affair?'” he said.
Will replace Governor General David Hurley on July 1
Mostyn said these politicians would argue there was no harm in extramarital affairs in Canberra because “it’s a fun old place, away from family”, noting his experience was that “the normal rules of good behaviour” did not exist.
Mostyn’s appointment attracted praise from left-wing figures such as Peter FitzSimons, Magda Szubanski and Australian Republic Movement president Craig Foster.
Mr Foster described Ms Mostyn’s appointment as “an inspired choice”, describing it as “one that I am sure Australians would make if we had the choice”. Instead of asking for the approval of a King.
“Indeed, Sam would make a wonderful president of the Australian Republic.”
And Mr. FitzSimons, another advocate of a republic, said: ‘Great choice! Very much a woman of the people.
Senior National MPs David Littleproud and Bridget McKenzie supported the appointment.
But United Australia Party senator Ralph Babet argued Albanese has replaced an ADF general (Mr Hurley) with “a Canberra leftist champion of climate change and equity”.
Mostyn has long been vocal about her ambitions to see positive change in Canberra after working as a policy adviser to two ministers and the Prime Minister during the Keating era of government.
Mostyn will take up the role on July 1.
But after WhatsNew2Day Australia published this story, the No Indigenous Voice campaign, Advance, criticized the appointment, describing it as “an insult to the majority of Australians”.
‘Mostyn is the worst kind of corporate activist who campaigned against the majority of Australians in the divisive Voice referendum.
‘The appointment of the Prime Minister… confirms that he cares more about activists and elites than about the people who work hard to make this nation great.
“If Australians want to see an example of the left marching through our institutions, this is it, right in front of us.”
Advance described the appointment as “deeply political” and said the position should have gone to someone who was “apolitical.”