The oldest office in the land has just changed hands, with barely a ripple on the surface. Acting on the advice of NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Queen Elizabeth has, as Queen of Australia, appointed the respected Justice Margaret Beazley to be Governor of New South Wales after General Hurley takes up his role as Governor-General.

This brevity of the announcement illustrates the simplicity, efficiency and economy of this proven method of finding leadership beyond politics and as well as of a significant and necessary check and balance in our constitutional system as very few such systems anywhere in the world can...