City of Belmont - Ruth Faulkner Public Library

Penny Wong, passion and principle : the biography, by Margaret Simons

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

individual biography

portraitsillustrationsplates

index present

non fiction

Penny Wong

by Margaret Simons

passion and principle : the biography

A revelatory portrait of one of the most talented, poised and respected Australian politicians, written by one of Australias foremost biographers. Senator Penny Wong is an extraordinary Australian politician. Resolute, self-possessed and a penetrating thinker on subjects from climate change to foreign affairs, she is admired by members of parliament and the public from across the political divide. In this first-ever biography of Penny Wong, acclaimed journalist Margaret Simons traces her story: from her early life in Malaysia, to her student activism in Adelaide, to her time in the turbulent Rudd and Gillard governments, to her key role as a voice of reason in the polarising campaign to legalise same-sex marriage. What emerges is a picture of a leader for modern Australia, a cool-headed and cautious yet charismatic figure of piercing intelligence, with a family history linking back to Australias colonial settlers and to the Asia-Pacific. Drawing on exclusive interviews with Penny Wong and her Labor colleagues, parliamentary opponents, and close friends and family, this is a scintillating insight into an Australian politician without precedence