Richard Marles coy on future role amid speculation of Penny Wong retirement

Richard Marles has refused to commit to serving a full term as Defence Minister if Labor wins the election amid speculation Penny Wong is planning to retire.

Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

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Richard Marles has refused to commit to serving a full term as Defence Minister if Labor wins the election, amid speculation Penny Wong will retire and Mr Marles will take the Foreign Affairs portfolio.

Mr Marles said he’d wanted to serve as Defence Minister in Labor’s first term, and “I’ve almost completed the job”.

He said he would not pre-empt any future role if the Albanese government was returned on May 3. “We’ve got an election to win, and that’s our focus,” he said on Monday. “So the last thing I’m about to do is start speculating on what happens after the election.”

Senator Wong’s political future has been the subject of persistent rumours in Canberra and her hometown Adelaide, with multiple senior Labor sources saying she plans to leave politics within six months, no matter the poll result.

They say after 24 years in parliament, she wants to spend more time with wife Sophie Allouache and their daughters Alexandra and Hannah.

Richard Marles with an F-35A fighter jet. Picture: David Caird

The government rejects such talk, saying Senator Wong has no intention to retire and Labor’s national security team will be unchanged after the election.

Senator Wong’s purchase last year with Ms Allouache of a $3.4m mansion in one of Adelaide’s most exclusive suburbs has only added to the speculation.

Mr Marles, as Deputy Prime Minister, would have the right to choose his portfolio in a re-elected Albanese government.

Senior party sources say he is interested in the Foreign Ministry after successfully navigating the intense international diplomacy that comes with defence.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy, widely respected for his command of the portfolio, would be expected to take the senior Defence Ministry under such circumstances.

Richard Marles meets with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington DC. Picture: Supplied

Mr Marles said Labor had provided consistent leadership in Defence after the Coalition’s merry-go-round of six defence ministers during the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments. “We’ve had one defence minister, as we said we would. I’ve almost completed the job in terms of this term.

“Now we’re focused on seeking our re-election, and really the questions that you’re asking are on the other side of that event, if we’re ultimately successful. But Australian people get a say in this first.”

Senator Wong, one of Labor’s strongest performers, has played a low-key role in the campaign.