The incoming Liberal government won a total of 25 seats, with crossbench independents holding 3 seats. [1] Wong entered politics by winning a Senate seat in the 2001 election. Wong's present relationship with partner Sophie Allouache, with whom she has two children, is zealously guarded from public view, including from Simons, who wrote the biography initially against Wong's wishes, eventually replaced with slight support given through gritted teeth.Simons' book implicitly shows the inadequacy of an identity approach to understanding Wong and explaining her career while also demonstrating how crucial identity can be as an organising category for righting specific wrongs in particular historical moments. Ten days later, he took his own life. Tobys story is a tragic part of Wongs life. Comments John Faulkner, phlegmatically, How long are you going to condemn her to sit in parliament?. [50], Jay Weatherill also set up Investment Attraction South Australia in 2015, attracting international companies including Technicolour, Boeing, Kaufland, Datacom and VeroGuard. Will she quit politics if Labor fails next time around? All You Need To Know About The Australian Politician, Penny Wong Whether as prime minister or foreign minister, there is a good chance that she will yet be one of our top leaders, which is a compelling reason for us to know more about the making of Penny Wong. Jay Weatherill announces Royal Commission into Murray-Darling Plan A plebiscite is all about the internal politics of the Liberal Party, not about delivering marriage equality, she went on. "It is my responsibility as party leader to present a unified team and the clearest possible message to the electorate that you know who you are voting for when you vote at the next state election," he said. BiographyPenny WongMargaret SimonsBlack Inc., $34.99. Over the course of last month's election she served as Labor's federal campaign spokeswoman, proving to be articulate and surefooted; on being asked anything about her private life, however, she gets tongue-tied. She is fiercely intellectual, yet also emotional. 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. [22] After her parents separated, she moved to Adelaide, South Australia, at the age of eight with her mother and younger brother. Please try again later. [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. Penny Wong and Jay Weatherill View 5 Penny Wong and Jay Weatherill Photos Show Jay Weatherill With: Tony Abbott , Hillary Clinton , Rod Equid , Gary Burns , Prince Charles Malcolm Turnbull exploits divisions between Jay Weatherill and Bill In this role, she helped negotiate Australia's interests in the Trans-Pacific Partnership which was ratified in late 2018. Yet she will lead. Senator Don Farrell backs down on move to SA politics after Premier Jay "Penny arrived in 1988. [45], Shortly after the commencement of the Gillard government in June 2010, Julia Gillard promoted Wong to succeed Lindsay Tanner as Minister for Finance and Deregulation. You can have all these plans, and then life does something different and you have spent all this mental energy on complex plans that are entirely in your head That sounds a bit fatalistic, but its also a sort of weariness, I think, that comes with being 50.. [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". It came after audience member David Hunter posed a question to Penny Wong about whether Labor might be smarter to agree to a plebiscite so a decision would be guaranteed early next year. Issues Survey Community Survey. Jay Weatherill retweeted. [18] Weatherill refused to rule out challenging Rann in a caucus ballot if he did not stand down on his return to Australia. What I find extraordinary is George Christiansen is willing to cross the floor and hold the Government to ransom on high income superannuation tax breaks but no-one in the moderates of the Liberal Party is prepared to put the pressure on and say we want a vote in the Parliament, because thats what the Australian people want. This is simply a question of respect. ", Wong remembers: "We had these big fights about who would control the Labor Club. 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. Senator Natasha Stott Despoja was a contemporary, as well as Wong's then boyfriend, Jay Weatherill, now a senior minister in Mike Rann's South Australian Government. Yet there are recurrent reminders of Simonss tense relationship with her subject. Penny Wong - Wikipedia [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. Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Upon Labor's victory at the 2022 election, Wong was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs, and resumed her role as Leader of the Government in the Senate. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Look, I think with the benefit of hindsight we probably got much more wound up in student politics than we really needed to, but isn't that what you do when you're young?". Jane and Francis married and, after Francis completed his degree, moved to "KK" where he became a leading architect and Jane had children Penny and Toby. The two women in the Senate were to maintain balance in the leadership team, as Plibersek and Shorten had epitomised before the election. ", She leaned heavily on her faith after her brother's death, and remains a committed worshipper in the Uniting Church, although religion is another subject she is loath to discuss. . This issue Im really tired of talking about it. PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull has exploited divisions between Premier Jay Weatherill and Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to fend off Labor attacks on tax reform and education funding. She batted off comments from Education Minister Simon Birmingham, who was accused on social media of mansplaining when he told her: Penny, youve got the opportunity now to see this issue resolved. Following Labor's defeat in the 2013 election, Wong held several roles in the Shadow Cabinets of both Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese, serving as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate throughout. Don Farrell. Wong is a member of Labor Left,[40] and is a member of EMILY's List Australia,[41] the support network for Labor women, and sat on a number of Senate committees, primarily those related to economics.[42]. Wong's negotiating skills were proven in 2003, when as a new senator she wangled affirmative action rules through the federal party during the infamous "special rules conference" called by Simon Crean. One of the Indonesian ministers said to me, if you take the sugar off the table the ants will stop coming.. She has a sharp intellect. Weatherill announced his intention to retire from Parliament on 6 December 2018. [26], Weatherill allowed a conscience vote for the Greens' 2013 South Australian Gay Marriage bill in August 2012. Jay Weatherill - Wikipedia But it is also a keen assessment of her own talents, limitations and abilities. The White Australia policy still existed and in any case Francis faced family obligations requiring his presence back home. Simons notes Wongs long-term partners, firstly her five-year relationship with Jay Weatherill, future premier of South Australia, which began while she was at university and he was an industrial officer for the Australian Workers Union. I think the best thing we can do now is let Australians have their say, and hope and believe as I do there will be a strong yes vote and it will be a really positive thing for gay and lesbian Australians to get that public endorsement of a change that actually then comes into law., TAKE THE SUGAR OFF THE TABLE, THE ANTS WILL STOP COMING. Jay Weatherill is not a London High Commissioner candidate 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.. Weatherill, who dated Penny Wong when he was a young Labor activist and is a long-time political ally of the now Foreign Minister, would still be a top candidate for the London post if he was . ", On her brother: "The only thing I'd want to say is how much I missed him the day I was sworn in.". Simons shows Wong, in contrast, as able to operate in the same challenging environment and yet be true to herself and her values. In 2006 Wong met her current partner, Sophie Allouache; together they have two daughters, Alexandra, born in 2011, and Hannah, in 2015. [31] One month later, while protesting outside a state Labor Party convention at the Adelaide Trades Hall, Wong had a conversation with Young Labor member Lois Boswell, who told her that "if you wanted to really make a difference, you had to be inside the room having that battle." IF HE was tenacious on the football field, he showed real talent on the tennis court. TOP 19 QUOTES BY JAY WEATHERILL | A-Z Quotes Following Stephen Conroy's resignation and the beginning of the second Rudd government, she also became the Leader of the Government in the Senate. [57] At this point she was named part of Albanese's four-person ALP leadership team, along with Richard Marles and Kristina Keneally. She is a practising Christian. The only Asian faces at the local primary school, Penny and Toby were relentlessly bullied and the family home splashed with racist graffiti. Check out the latest pictures, photos and images of Jay Wetherill. These included laws to ensure equal access to IVF and surrogacy services for same sex couples, equal access to adoption, the establishment of a relationships register, the removal of discriminatory language throughout legislation, formal protections for intersex people, and changes to make amending a gender on a birth certificate easier. 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.