She seems genuinely puzzled by the idea that anyone would be interested in the fact that she is Australia's first lesbian cabinet minister, and the first Asian-born cabinet minister, for that matter. Here is the book's first surprise: Penny Wong is a churchgoer. She has learned to campaign, and to perform for the media and the public, but it will never be her natural or preferred game. Wong does not discuss the circumstances of this dreadful blow, beside an enigmatic promise to him in her maiden speech: "Your life and death ensure that I shall never forget what it is like for those who are truly marginalised. There is a hint of it in her smile, which is shy and engaging; she is striking to look at, and photogenic, but hates having her picture taken. [46][47] At this time, Wong said she agreed with the Labor Party policy on marriage[48] because there was a, "cultural, religious and historical view of marriage being between a man and a woman". When the Federal Government rejected the request, Weatherill then launched a South Australian Royal Commission in January 2018 to investigate. Anna Bligh. If a comrade was spending long hours campaigning, Wong might arrange for a set of course notes to materialise in that person's pigeonhole, just so they didn't get too behind. About; Media Hub. That was by dint of his capacity, his procedural understanding, his rhetorical capacity and his personal relationships. In caucus, she says, Albanese is consultative and strategic. [9] Weatherill is from the Labor Left faction. We tend to idealise politicians who appear different from the pack, and then tear them down when they inevitably disappoint. And now she is one of Kevin Rudd's most senior cabinet ministers, charged with driving an international consensus on climate change, and a domestic consensus on water management. After Weatherill, her relationships were with women. In a July 1988 election, Wong won a position on the board of the Adelaide University Union as part of the newly-formed Progressive Education Team. ", "Penny Wong, as South Australian senator, sets firsts as Asian-born federal minister; openly gay parliamentarian", "AustLII: 159 documents found for ("P Wong")", "The 12 Labor figures who will do the heavy lifting in government", "Garrett pays price for insulation debacle", "Garrett Stripped of Climate Change Role", Ministerial Representation & Senate Office Holders in the Senate 43rd Parliament 25 March 2013 The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, "Gillard unveils major frontbench shake-up", "Tanya Plibersek elected deputy Labor leader, Penny Wong re-elected to lead Labor in Senate", "Labor drops opposition to Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal", "Penny Wong and Jordon Steele-John celebrated for political leadership", "Labor leader Anthony Albanese announces frontbench in wake of federal election 2019", "Anthony Albanese sworn in as prime minister, and makes Quad timing a virtue", "Proud to be Asian and gay! At the time Holden directly employed 1,600 people in its Elizabeth plant in South Australia, with a total of 3,000 job losses predicted through the supply chain. book's third surprise is Wong's matter-of-fact segue from a five-year relationship with the then young Labor activist Jay Weatherill - later . She is one of the most significant political talents of our times or, as she might put it, of our generation. [13][14][15][16][17] In early August 2011 Weatherill's attempts at contacting Rann on his trade mission to India had been met with silence, leaving the party leadership in limbo until Rann's return to Australia. Keneally replaced Don Farrell in that position. But what are the odds that Penelope Ying-Yen Wong, born in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, on November 5, 1968, would enter this world with a God-given knack for politics? The question everyone asks when they know you are writing a book about Penny Wong is whether she will ever be prime minister, and if not, why not. This is a good book with the right balance of personal journey and labour history to show how contemporary politics works and how it doesn't work. [9] In December 2022, Wong was deemed the most effective minister in the Albanese government in a survey of Australian Financial Review readers. Media Statements Opinion Pieces Transcripts Speeches. [2] Later, Weatherill would hold portfolios such as Housing (20042008), Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation (20062010), Early Childhood and Development (20082011), Environment and Conservation (20082010) and Education (20102011). In this role, she helped negotiate Australia's interests in the Trans-Pacific Partnership which was ratified in late 2018. A0037102Z, Lives of the Wives: Five literary marriages, On Every Tide: The making and remaking of the Irish world, The Mad Marathon: The story of the 2013 Election, The Morals of the Market: Human rights and the rise of neoliberalism, Almost Human: A biography of Julius the chimpanzee. [36] Weatherill also released the French Engagement Strategy, a plan to strengthen economic and business ties with France, also focusing on broader opportunities in areas such as education, tourism and the arts. Wong has been described by her biographer as "principled, intellectual, private, restrained and sane". Jay Weatherill brings down house SOUTH Australia Premier and Penny Wong's ex Jay Weatherill drew cheers as he called on Australia to take a good hard look at itself. Penny Wong did not always intend to be a politician, even if it looks that way in retrospect. Issues Survey Community Survey. Twitter users said they were shocked at the dehumanisation of refugees by the ex-Liberal senator. This important new degree will help build a pipeline of talent across & will play a critical role in the development of . And there's the rub. The pair did not have any children together. This was her fathers home region, where his Chinese ancestors had moved in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. She has a sharp intellect. Jay Weatherill and Rod Equid Photos Photos - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (C) talks at the ASC facilities as Australian Senator Penny Wong (L), South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill . She says the navel-gazing should come to an end and recommendations should be implemented ASAP. [86] He is a supporter of the Port Adelaide Football Club. Here is the book's second surprise: she is descended from original South Australian settlers. In the Senate from 2002, Wong would find her feet as a politician and gradually rose within the ALP. Wong previously served as Minister for Climate Change and Minister for Finance and Deregulation during the governments of Prime Ministers Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard from 2007 until 2013. It is a health and medical research institute housing more than 700 researchers, and was the first stage of a new health and bio-medical precinct on North Terrace in Adelaide. Certainly, Wong is known widely within the party for her driving ambition, and her lack of squeamishness about the hard and unattractive side of factional business, of which she saw plenty through the Crean/Latham era. | Tim Hollo, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Check out the latest pictures, photos and images of Jay Wetherill. She was elected at the 2001 election, her term commencing on 1 July 2002. Were working to restore it. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Nevertheless, she has made some references in the past to the marginalisation she and her younger brother, Toby, experienced while growing up in Adelaide, and her maiden speech was a passionate denunciation of the politics of racial division. With Labor winning government in the 2022 Australian federal election, Wong became Minister for Foreign Affairs. As leader of the party, he said his responsibilities were to lead and, when asked his opinion, to give his judgment. Senator Farrell told the ABC he was not interested in the leadership of the SA ALP, but believed he had something to offer the people of Napier. There are two sides to this concern. This forged a "steely resolve" in Wong, Simons writes. Weatherill is married to his wife, Melissa, with whom he has two daughters. Could South Australia become one day the world capital of nuclear waste?, But Mr Weatherill remained serious: We could if the community chose to do that.. Wong experienced her early childhood as a comfortable cultural melange. She absorbs meaning as well as projecting it. I have mine. If the senator was preselected, Weatherill said he would consider resigning before the 15 March election. [51], In 2015, the Weatherill Government pledged significant funds towards a second building, to be known as the John Chalmers Centre for Transforming Healthcare or 'SAHMRI II', which would house Australia's first proton therapy unit. Butler, who remains factionally close, describes her as a cool political operator ideally suited to the task set for her by Rudd. Margaret Simons' picture of this impressive politician in Penny Wong: Passion and Principle transcends reductionist identity labels, as important as being a woman, being in a same-sex partnership and being of Asian-Australian heritage are to Wong's story. Updated: November 15, 2012 . He said he offered to stand aside for him the day after the federal election when it was clear Farrell would lose his seat. The only Asian faces at the local primary school, Penny and Toby were relentlessly bullied and the family home splashed with racist graffiti. [83] In 2021, he was reported to have moved to Perth, Western Australia and be working for Andrew Forrest's Minderoo Foundation, promoting an early childhood development campaign named Thrive by Five. HE WAS always one to have a girlfriend, according to Joy. IF HE was tenacious on the football field, he showed real talent on the tennis court. By the following March, she had organised the numbers and there was the largest ever Labor Club meeting - the union theatre was packed to the rafters. However, what many dont know is that she was previously in a relationship with Jay Weatherill. On the student council he was regarded as one of the school's "leading lights". [18] Rann eventually resigned at the behest of factional bosses, with Caucus endorsing Weatherill as his successor. 5 Penny Wong Jay Weatherill pictures. Peter Malinauskas succeeded Weatherill as Labor leader on 9 April. Penny Wong is an Australian politician who has been public about her sexual orientation. [35] Following the announcement, Jay Weatherill travelled to France to meet with DCNS and others in an attempt to maximise opportunities for South Australia. [68], The plan also included new legislative powers to ensure the South Australian energy minister could compel companies to turn on generators in peak demand periods. Who is Penny Wongs first boyfriend Jay Weatherill? [31] However, Australia's surging dollar hit the manufacturing industry sector in SA, and growth in indicators such as retail sales and house prices fell. [81], In June 2019, he was appointed as an industry professor at the University of South Australia. [38] While Liberal Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas claimed South Australia was careering toward double digit unemployment after the closure,[39] strong support from the Weatherill Labor government ensured the small business sector grew above trend after the closure[40] with unemployment at 6% in January 2017, three months after. Between 1987 and 1990, he worked for the Australian Workers' Union. Ten days after the 2001 election, which first took Penny into the Senate, Toby killed himself. [75], The record-16-year-incumbent SA Labor government was seeking a fifth four-year term at the 2018 election, but was defeated by the opposition SA Liberals, led by Steven Marshall. the capital of Sabah in Malaysia. The federal parliament can get on with the business of passing the same-sex marriage legislation., Twitter user Eric Malcolm remarked that the Premier was making sense for the first time.. At the University of Adelaide, Wong studied law and political science. In 1989 Wong was elected general secretary of the university Labor Club; others viewed her as the one in charge. I remember always thinking that he had five-year plans and seven-year plans, and I just did the next thing, and then the next. Wong quickly transitioned from student politics to being active in the Labor Party at state level, and then nationally with the help of powerful supporters such as Nick Bolkus. Photograph: Alan Porritt/AAP Image. It drains her. "[71] As a member of the Senate, Wong is considered unlikely to mount a candidacy for leadership of the Labor Party in the future, though there is no formal rule that restricts the office to members of the House of Representatives. Following the reshuffle in December 2006, she became responsible for the portfolios of Public Administration and Accountability, Corporate Governance and Responsibility, and Workforce Participation. [84], In the 2021 Australia Day Honours, Weatherill was awarded Officer of the Order of Australia for "distinguished service to the people and Parliament [64], In 2017, Weatherill announced a plan to reform South Australia's electricity supply,[65][66] as a response to a number of blackouts that affected large numbers of South Australian residents and businesses in 2016. Hieu Van Le was announced on 26 June 2014 as the next Governor of South Australia to replace Kevin Scarce. Finally, well into Simonss writing, she was invited to Senator Wongs office, where Wong gave her a hard time. She was the first woman to be elected as ALP Senate leader, and the first woman to serve as Leader of the Government in the Senate. The stability of the arrangement is one of the questions surrounding Labors immediate political future. Wong gently disagrees, but says she never thought of a House of Representatives seat in any event: "I actually think that the house of review is the chamber where more detailed legislative work is done.". It also shows why Wong is not, and was never going to be, prime minister as many people, Wong excluded, hoped, though not for the reasons you may imagine. Penelope Ying-Yen Wong (born 5 November 1968) is an Australian politician who is currently serving as the minister for Foreign Affairs and leader of the Government in the Senate in the Albanese Government since 2022. They are allies, she says, and Keneally has earned her place. Creative Spaces is a program of Arts Melbourne at the City of Melbourne.Australian Book Review Inc. is an association incorporated in Victoria, registered no. [55][56], In April 2016, Whyalla's steelworks owned by Arrium was placed in voluntary administration by its directors due to significant debts. [39], Wong ran for pre-selection for the Senate in 2001, and was selected for the top position on the Labor Party's South Australian ticket. One of the first things she published as an adult was the On Dit article in which she argued that professional political representation was the most important service. People in Borneo suffered severely under Japanese occupation in World War II, including Penny Wongs paternal grandmother, father, and his siblings. [72], Wong is a practising Christian, attending Pilgrim Uniting Church in Adelaide. Early Life and Education ADVERTISEMENT (modern), Jay Weatherill: Senator Farrell associated with disunity that led to destruction of federal Labor party. Six years later, after an amicable marriage breakdown, Jane, Penny and Toby moved there permanently. Editor at Ghanafuo.com! [22] After her parents separated, she moved to Adelaide, South Australia, at the age of eight with her mother and younger brother. LNP won't give free vote #qanda, #qanda is the major contributor to my premier envy, first Daniel Andrews and now Jay Weatherill. "We don't want that in state parliament," he said. In 2013 she became Leader of the Government in the Senate, the first woman to do so, and later the upper houses Leader of the Opposition. How long did Penny Wong and Jay Weatherill date? [63], Jay Weatherill, along with then Health Minister Jack Snelling, opened the new Royal Adelaide Hospital in early September 2017. The intention was for it to eventually form part of a national space agency. She is fiercely intellectual, yet also emotional. Did Penny Wong and Jay Weatherill have children together? Type above and press Enter to search. Wong rejects any view of herself and Keneally as rivals. Brad Orchard parents: Who are his father and mother? [1] Wong entered politics by winning a Senate seat in the 2001 election. It's true that in student politics, where practitioners subsist on a rich diet of reality-free political theory and too many standing orders, things can often get out of hand. Before she finished her degree she began work as a paralegal with the Federated Furnishing Trade union. In a reshuffle of the South Australian Cabinet that week, Weatherill also announced the expanded the portfolio to become 'Defence and Space Industries'. The White Australia policy still existed and in any case Francis faced family obligations requiring his presence back home. There are several surprises in Margaret Simons' biography of Penny Wong. Francis Yit Shing Wong was a Colombo Plan student of architecture at the University of Adelaide in the 1960s; he had married Jane Chapman and returned to Sabah with her. He later studied at the University of Adelaide, graduating with degrees in law and economics. It also created a reservoir of inner rage that fuels the terror she can unleash on those who cross her to this day unfortunate to have but super handy in politics. Weatherill announced his intention to retire from Parliament on 6 December 2018. 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