Queen's rep backs republic and gay marriage Governor General Quentin Bryce with Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Julie Bishop Photo: Andrew Meares Governor-General Quentin Bryce has declared her support for same-sex marriage in a speech that veers dramatically from the tradition that vice-regal representatives avoid political controversy. She has also publicly embraced the vision of an Australian republic where she wants Australian children to imagine growing up to be the nation's first head of state. In the last of her four Boyer lectures on the ABC, Ms Bryce, arguing for a "fairer Australia," calls on Australians to imagine a future where "the ethic of care" guides the way the nation's people live. She ends with the offer of a new vision of an Australia "where people are free to love and marry whom they choose and where perhaps, my friends, one day, one young girl or boy may even grow up to be our nation's first head of state." Ms Bryce, as Governor-General, is the Queen's representative in Australia, a position whose former occupants have been at pains to avoid political controversy. However, Ms Bryce, whose term is due to end in March, appears intent on ensuring she will leave a legacy of firm opinion about the way she believes Australian society should behave. It is the first time an Australian governor-general has offered such a clear statement of support for a future republic, and appears designed to re-open the debate, from the highest level, on the nation's constitutional arrangements. Her implied support for same-sex marriage - opposed by the Abbott government - is likely to intensify debate at both public and societal levels. Ms Bryce's four Boyer lectures have focused on her belief that Australian society should place human rights at its centre.