Overview
- Foreign Minister Penny Wong used the Gyngell Lecture at the Lowy Institute on Friday to argue that calls to make Australia a monoculture would make the country weaker at home and more vulnerable overseas.
- Wong cited recent agreements with Indonesia, Timor‑Leste and several Pacific nations plus a supply link secured when the Strait of Hormuz closed as proof that multicultural ties helped protect Australia’s interests.
- The speech was a clear rebuttal of One Nation’s monocultural proposals as the party gains ground in opinion polls and threatens to shape the next federal election outcome.
- Lowy Institute polling shows 55% of Australians now say migration levels are too high while 73% still view cultural diversity positively, a split Wong warned could be exploited by forces spreading division and disinformation.
- The address underlines the Albanese government’s shift to prioritise the Indo‑Pacific and ‘resilience’ in foreign policy and comes ahead of an expected government update on immigration policy.