Penny Wong: Passion and Principle

Description

This first-ever biography of Penny Wong reveals a picture of a leader for modern Australia- poised, charismatic and representative of our nation. A revelatory portrait of one of the most talented, poised and respected Australian politicians, written by one of Australia's 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 Australia's 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.

Margaret Simons is an award-winning journalist and the author of thirteen books, including a biography of Malcolm Fraser that won the Book of the Year and the Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction at the 2011 NSW Premier's Literary Awards. She is the recipient of the 2015 Walkley Award for Social Equity Journalism and has been honoured with several Quill Awards. Simons is an associate professor in the School of Media, Film and Journalism at Monash University, and a board member of the Public Interest Journalism Initiative.