In 2008, she became the first Asian-Australian in an Australian Cabinet.[1] She was also the first female openly-LGBTI Australian federal parliamentarian, and was an instrumental figure in the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia in 2017, reversing her previous endorsement of Labor Party policy that had opposed it.[2][3][4][5][6] On 6 March 2024, Wong became longest-serving female cabinet minister in the history of the Australian Parliament. Several surveys have consistently found Wong to be the most trusted politician in Australia.[7]
Through her friendship with David Penberthy, who had also been on exchange in Latin America,[28] Wong joined the Socialist Workers Party-sponsored Committee in Solidarity with Central America and the Caribbean (CISCAC) while at university in 1987, but was not an active member.[29] Wong's connections with CISCAC brought her in contact with a broader group of left-wing activists who opposed the Hawke Labor government's planned changes to university fees. 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.[30] 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." Wong joined the Labor Party that day; she credits her decision to her conversation with Boswell, and the Liberal-National Coalition's new "One Australia" policy opposing multiculturalism and Asian immigration.[31]
Wong became involved with the leadership of the Adelaide University Labor Club,[32] and has been a delegate to the South Australian Labor Party State Convention every year since 1989 (with the exception of 1995).[33]
After graduation, Wong continued her association with the CFMEU as an industrial officer.[8] She was admitted to the South Australian Bar in 1993. During 1995 and 1996, Wong acted as an advisor to the CFMEU and to the newly elected New South Wales state government, specializing in the area of forest policy in the middle of the fierce 1990s environmental battles over logging in NSW.[34]
On returning to Adelaide, Wong began practising law, working as a solicitor at the firm Duncan and Hannon (1996–1999).[35] From 1999 to 2002, she worked as a legal officer with the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union. During this time she also won a position on the ALP's state executive.[36]
During her legal career (1996–2002), Wong appeared as counsel in 11 published decisions of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, 15 published decisions of the South Australian Industrial Relations Court, 8 published decisions of the South Australian Industrial Relations Commission, 3 published decisions of the South Australian Workers Compensation Appeal Tribunal and 10 published decisions of the South Australian Workers Compensation Tribunal.[37][38]
Political career
Election to the Senate
Wong in 2007
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. She was elected at the 2001 election, her term commencing on 1 July 2002. Wong is a member of Labor Left,[39] and is a member of EMILY's List Australia,[40] the support network for Labor women, and sat on a number of Senate committees, primarily those related to economics.[41]
In June 2005, Wong was appointed Shadow Minister for Employment and Workforce Participation,[42] and Shadow Minister for Corporate Governance and Responsibility. Following the reshuffle in December 2006, she became responsible for the portfolios of Public Administration and Accountability, Corporate Governance and Responsibility, and Workforce Participation.[citation needed]
In February 2013, Wong was elected as the ALP's deputy Senate leader following the resignation of Chris Evans, thus becoming Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate.[50] Wong retained the position of Minister for Finance after Kevin Rudd's successful leadership spill in June 2013. Following Stephen Conroy's resignation and the beginning of the second Rudd government, she also became the Leader of the Government in the Senate. 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.[51] Wong held these roles until Labor's defeat at the 2013 federal election.[52]
Opposition (2013–2022)
Following Labor's defeat at the 2013 Australian federal election, Wong was elected Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, becoming the first woman to hold the position.[53] She was also appointed Labor's foreign affairs spokesperson. In this role, she helped negotiate Australia's interests in the Trans-Pacific Partnership which was ratified in late 2018.[54] In March 2019, Wong was named the 2018 McKinnon Political Leader of the Year.[55]
33rd annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) in Brisbane on 29 July 2023
During a 2023 Senate estimates hearing, Wong was asked about the presence of nuclear weapons aboard nuclear-capable B-52s and B2 Sprits U.S. bombers, which operate regularly out of northern Australia. When U.S. bombers visit Australia, the U.S. government does not tell the Australian government whether the aircraft are carrying nuclear weapons. Wong said the Australian Government "understand[s] and respect[s] the longstanding US policy of neither confirming or denying". She also said the government wanted a greater U.S. military presence in the Indo-Pacific region.[67]
Wong has expressed support for Israel during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.[70] But, in August 2024, she was among world leaders who condemned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's statement around 'starving' Palestinians in Gaza until hostages are returned.[71]
Wong rejected South Africa's genocide case against Israel, saying that "Our support for the ICJ and respect for its independence does not mean we accept the premise of South Africa’s case."[72] Wong paused funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in February 2024 after Israel alleged that 12 of the UNRWA's 13,000 staff were either involved in the attacks by Hamas on 7 October or had links to Hamas. She said she was waiting for Israel to provide evidence for the allegations and said that the UNRWA was the only organisation providing substantive support to the occupied Palestinian territories. A report by Channel 4 in the UK said that a dossier provided by Israel to the United Nations contained no evidence to support its allegations; at the same time Wong said that Israel's allegations were serious, noting that UNRWA itself had stated that an investigation was warranted.[73][74]
On 6 March 2024 Wong became longest-serving female cabinet minister in the history of the Australian Parliament, setting a new record as she served her 2,769th day in cabinet and exceeding the number of days served by former Liberal senator Amanda Vanstone.[75]
Public image
Wong has been described by her biographer as "principled, intellectual, private, restrained and sane".[76] In 2022, Reuters described her as a "high profile" figure with "a reputation for plain language and maintaining composure during heated debates."[77]
Several studies and surveys have consistently found Wong to be the most trusted politician in Australia among respondents.[78] Wong has been consistently named as Australia's most trusted politician through studies and opinion polling. Polling conducted by The Australia Institute in 2019 found that Wong was the most trusted federal legislator, though then-Prime Minister of New ZealandJacinda Ardern topped the poll altogether.[79] Studies taken in March 2022 and December 2023 by Roy Morgan Research found Wong to be Australia's most trusted politician.[78][7] Wong was deemed the most effective minister in the Albanese government in a survey of Australian Financial Review readers in 2022 and 2023.[80][81] Opinion polling undertaken by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in December 2023 also found Wong to be the most liked politician in the country.[82]
Personal life
Wong is a practising Christian just like her late father, Francis and late paternal grandmother, Lai Fung Shim, for she is a congregant of the Pilgrim Uniting Church in Adelaide.[25] She has said "I do not ever remember having the sense that I denied the existence of God."[83] Others in her wider family from Sabah are Buddhist, but she also has Christian relatives on her paternal family.[84] She held Malaysian citizenship before renouncing it in 2001.[85]
Wong is a lesbian and came out publicly a month after she assumed her Senate seat in 2002.[86] In 2010, Wong was selected by readers of Samesame website as one of the 25 most influential lesbian Australians.[87]
Wong's wife, Sophie Allouache, is a public servant and former University of Adelaide Students' Association president.[88] In December 2011, Allouache gave birth to their first child,[89] after announcing the IVF-assisted pregnancy.[90] Allouache gave birth to their second daughter in 2015.[91] Wong and Allouache married in 2024.[92]
Wong received media attention in June 2022, on a visit to Indonesia, for making a speech in fluent Indonesian;[93] it is unclear whether she learned Indonesian separately, or was relying on the similarities between Indonesian and Malay, which she learned as a child in Malaysia.
^"Profile". Asian Currents. Asian Studies Association of Australia. August 2004. Archived from the original on 1 October 2004. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
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