Australians have been navigating several “seriously challenging matters” this year, from the cost of living to conflict in the Middle East, but the country’s Governor-General Sam Mostyn is hopeful of an “optimistic” path forward. Reflecting on her first one hundred days in the role, Mostyn spoke to SBS News about Australia’s social cohesion, which has come under strain in recent months, the , and . “I was acutely aware when I was sworn in just over three months ago that there were a number of seriously challenging matters going on across our communities,” she said. “We’d come out of COVID-19, there were lots of mental health strains. It was then an economic challenge, and [there were] many cost of living challenges right across the country for many. Then, of course, a conflict in