Penny Wong reveals Labor’s priorities for SA ahead of Quad trip

Now the state’s most senior federal government figure, Senator Penny Wong has revealed what Labor will do first for SA.

Catching up on key defence briefings to determine Adelaide’s exact role in the AUKUS security pact and ensuring the state gets its fair share of water headline the urgent issues the new Labor government will address in South Australia.

Now the state’s most senior government figure, Penny Wong said her party would be “focusing on our infrastructure commitments and our plan to ensure the Murray gets the water that has been promised”.

The Flinders hospital upgrade, the Murray and AUKUS are top of the list for SA under Labor. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Senator Wong, who will become Australia’s new foreign affairs minister, emphatically backed the AUKUS security pact with the US and Britain, but was not in a position to say whether SA would stay at the centre of the deal.

“Unfortunately, the previous government failed to brief us on any details of this partnership after it was announced, so this will be a priority in coming weeks,” she said.

“Given the scale and complexity, I’m not going to get too far ahead of those briefings, but we will be working hard to bring certainty to South Australians who have been left hanging for too long.”

Senator Wong said the AUKUS partnership was a “critical part” of Australia’s national security that Labor “supported from day one”.

She said she took her role as SA’s most senior federal government figure “very seriously”.

“I hope that not only can I make sure SA’s interests are represented, but also that I can work with Peter Malinauskas to really lift SA’s profile around Australia – and indeed around the world,” she said.

Senator Wong will be sworn in on Monday, alongside other Labor frontbenchers Richard Marles, Jim Chalmers and Katy Gallagher.

Early on Tuesday, Senator Wong will arrive in Tokyo with Prime Minister-elect Anthony Albanese for the crucial Quad meeting with the US, Japan and India.

Anthony Albanese visits Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide with SA Premier Peter Malinauskas during the federal election campaign. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The visit comes amid China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region and Russia waging war in Ukraine.

“Travelling to the Quad meeting in week one signifies how important we believe this partnership is for our security,” Senator Wong said.

“And we will be taking new energy and much more to the table – including our commitment to act on climate change after a lost decade.”

She will be responsible for outlining to Quad partners Labor’s promised Southeast Asia package, which includes a special envoy and $470m in foreign aid for the region over four years.

Quad leaders will canvass the situation with China and Ukraine, as well as problems with North Korea, Afghanistan and Myanmar, where the oppressive military junta has threatened to slash diplomatic ties with Australia.

[e-mail]