Exasperated Penny Wong defends speech referencing British colonialism

A visibly frustrated Penny Wong has rebuffed questions over a speech she gave in the UK, referencing its history of colonialism.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has defended her speech in London in which she talked about Britain's colonial past. Source: AAP / MICK TSIKAS

KEY POINTS:

• Penny Wong has defended a speech referencing British colonialism.
• The foreign minister became visibly frustrated by questioning at Senate estimates.
• Senator Wong said frank discussion was vital to improving relations in Australia's region.

Penny Wong has defended a speech in the UK touching on its colonial history, saying discussing “who we are” is vital to improving relations in Australia’s region.

Appearing before Senate estimates on Thursday, the foreign minister became visibly frustrated by repeated questions from Coalition counterpart Simon Birmingham, at one point telling him: "You think ... you're my counsellor".

In a wide-ranging speech, delivered at the King's College in London earlier this month, Senator Wong declared Australia now viewed itself as part of the Indo-Pacific, which she framed as the "most consequential region of our time".

Referencing her own family's history with colonialism, the Malaysian-born foreign minister also urged Britain and Australia to engage with "uncomfortable" stories about their past, rather than "staying sheltered in narrower versions of our countries' histories".

Senator Birmingham on Thursday seized on criticism from some sections of the media, including in Britain, to label the comments a "distraction" from the speech's broader message.

Senator Wong said the presence of UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, left, shows the country has changed. Source: AAP

'Common ground'

But Senator Wong insisted a frank discussion over colonialism was vital to establishing "common ground" with Australia's regional partners, many of which have their own history of British rule.

“If we recognise our history, and we recognise how we have changed, we find more common ground, and we deal with some of the ways in which others seek to constrain us,” she told Senator Birmingham.

“In the context of AUKUS and the Quad, that is about Australian influence and power in the region. If you can't see that, I'm surprised, because I would have thought you understand that, unlike some.”

Following the UK speech, Senator Wong gave a press conference alongside UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, whose mother is from Sierra Leone. Senator Wong said the "modern face of Australia and the modern face of Britain is apparent here in this room".

'For goodness' sake'

Mr Cleverly later said colonialism was not the "mainstay" of the pair's discussion, but accepted "you cannot eradicate or erase your history so you need to be conscious of it".

And Senator Wong insisted her "unremarkable" comments were "very consistent" with statements she had made since assuming her role.

"Has the UK changed in the modern era?" Senator Birmingham asked.

“Of course it has, so have we … James Cleverly is the Foreign Secretary,” Senator Wong replied.

Simon Birmingham repeatedly pressed Senator Wong on whether the comments were a "distraction". Source: AAP

Senator Wong became visibly exasperated by the line of questioning, at one stage telling Senator Birmingham: "I feel like you think you're sort of my counsellor or something".

Senator Birmingham stressed the importance of "balance" and "respect for where you are", asking whether the speech had acknowledged positives about British history.

"Of course there are [positives]. Oh, for goodness' sake," she replied.

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade secretary Jan Adams said references to colonialism were not discussed either formally or informally in subsequent discussion with British diplomats.

"We had a lot more important things to be talking about, " she said.

"There was no sense of discomfort or diplomatic tension whatsoever. I can say that with complete confidence."