Why Tom Elliott isn’t happy with Penny Wong’s pitch to become foreign minister

Tom Elliott has taken exception to a suggestion from Penny Wong she’d help shift views about Australia internationally if Labor wins the election and she becomes foreign minister.

Speaking in Sydney on Wednesday, Ms Wong laid out her party’s foreign policy priorities ahead of this month’s election.

She said it would send a positive message to the region if she became Australia’s first Asian-Australian foreign minister.

“Just as historical negatives can be evoked, so too they can be shifted,” Ms Wong said in regards to “Australia’s past attitudes on race”.

Tom Elliott said Ms Wong’s heritage had absolutely no bearing on her ability to do the job.

“If that’s not racism, I don’t know what is,” the 3AW Drive said.

“She’s essentially saying that Julie Bishop, the former foreign minister, couldn’t do her job properly because she had blonde hair and blue eyes.”

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