AUSTRALIA: Dr John Herron, a former senator representing the state of Queensland, was yesterday appointed as Australia's next ambassador to Ireland and the Holy See. From Pádraig Collins, in Sydney
The 70-year-old Dr Herron, whose father came from Co Wexford, will replace the current ambassador, Mr Bob Halverson, who is due to retire later this year. However, the appointment, which was widely expected, has caused some disquiet in Australia.
Dr Herron announced his resignation from the senate on August 27th, less than a month into his third six-year term as a Liberal Party senator for Queensland. Because of the way the Australian political system works there will not be a by-election to fill the vacant federal senate seat.
Instead, it will be filled by a political appointment from within the Liberals, the senior party in Australia's coalition government.
An editorial in Brisbane's Courier-Mail newspaper last week said that Dr Herron's resignation meant "Australians were presented with a dishonest charade and treated like idiots.
"Voters were misled when they were asked last November to re-elect Senator Herron for a third six-year term, because neither he nor Prime Minister John Howard had an expectation that he would serve more than a brief part of his term."