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Meera Atkinson  The Hon Penelope (Penny) Ying Yen Wong, Senator for South Australia, was appointed Minister for Climate Change and Water in December last year.
A member of the Pilgrim Uniting Church in Adelaide, Penny burst onto the scene speaking of the need for compassion in addressing the ills of the land and of the need to positively reclaim the phrase ‘one nation’ in her maiden speech in 2002.
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She spoke, too, of the power and determination of her Chinese paternal grandmother who held her family together in Malaysia during the Second World War, reminding us that the achievements of women today are built on the foundation of the suffering and strength of our forebears. Nevertheless, hers is an outstanding achievement. Even in 21st Century Australia, it takes a brave woman to enter politics and an even braver one if they happen to be a young Asian immigrant. The Wong family came to Australia from Malaysia in 1977 when she was eight. The family settled in the Adelaide Hills and Penny went about getting an education. She won a scholarship to Scotch College and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree and an honours degree in Law from the University of Adelaide. Penny worked for the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union when she was still studying and stayed with the union after she was admitted to the Bar. She became an elected organiser and industrial officer before being employed as a ministerial advisor to the Carr government in New South Wales, concentrating on forest policy, later returning to Adelaide to practise law. Never shying away from the most contentious debates, she became convener of the ALPs Ethnic Policy Network at the height of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation reign. At a time when being Asian in Australia must have been a less than comfortable experience, Penny Wong stood up to fight what she called, “the darker tendencies of our history.” But it wasn’t just the racial divide Penny addressed in that first speech. She also took on the Wik legislation, the Tampa, and the “children overboard” affair; and now she has her hands full with one of the most controversial portfolios of all. Her recent announcements of a new plan to tackle climate change by reducing carbon emissions and a Queensland water buyback for Murray-Darling rivers scheme have attracted criticism, including an outburst in which Opposition water spokesman Greg Hunt likened her to Saddam Hussein. Her response seems to be that, while the issue of climate change is critical, the government has to go about tackling it in an economically accountable way. In a July interview with Isabelle Oderberg in Business Spectator she said: “The government will ensure that we approach this in the most efficient, the lowest cost and the most economically responsible way that we are able. We do want to reduce the carbon pollution that is affecting climate change, but we have to approach this in an economically responsible manner.” Anyone who doubts her core commitment to social justice should read the conclusion to that first speech in which she says: “I believe that the vast majority of Australians are good-hearted people. We have a sense of fairness and a commonsense approach to the world. This keeps us grounded. I also believe the factors which most weigh on social cohesion are economic hardship and political leadership. People do not share if they do not have their fair share. Nor do they listen if they are not listened to. So we must work to create a nation where there is a fair share for all… Let us hold on to that shared belief, that common purpose that arises at certain moments of our history. Let us truly be one nation.” And yes, Penny Wong does drive a Prius.
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