‘Fantastic as fiction’: Penny Wong on becoming Australia’s top diplomat as an immigrant

Wong, who is usually reticent to speak about personal experiences, gave a candid account about dealing with racism as a child when she delivered the inaugural lecture on Monday at the Centre for Asian-Australian Leadership in Canberra, which was set up in 2020 to tackle the so-called “bamboo ceiling” in Australia.

She said she could never imagine herself in the position she was in today during “those early years as an Asian kid in Adelaide, whose parents were married while the White Australia Policy was still in place”, referring to government policies that limited non-White immigration to the country until the 1960s.

“It is beyond doubt that having an Asian-Australian foreign minister sends a clear message to the region about modern Australia,” said Wong, who was born in Sabah in 1968. Wong’s mother is Australian-born while her father is originally from Malaysia.

“And it renders as nonsense narratives pushed by others, that have cast Australia as intolerant and unwelcoming – narratives that have sometimes resonated, and can harm our interests in a contested region.”

While not every foreign minister needed to be Asian-Australian, diversity in Australian leaders shapes how the world sees the country, she added.

It also helps build bridges with Australia’s regional neighbours in Asia, which were crucial to Australia’s political ambitions to engage with more than just traditional partners, she added.

During the speech, Wong announced changes to improve Asian language education through the New Colombo Plan, which supports undergraduate students with understanding of the Asia-Pacific through in-country studies, language training and internships.

To ensure the New Colombo Plan is effective at improving Australia’s Asian language