Pansy Wong

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use New Zealand English Template:Infobox officeholder Pansy Yu Fong Wong (Template:Zh; born 1955<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>) is a New Zealand former politician.

Wong was a National Party Member of Parliament in the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1996 to 2011. She was New Zealand's first MP and first Cabinet minister of Asian ethnicity and served as Minister for Ethnic Affairs and Minister of Women's Affairs in the Fifth National Government. Wong resigned from Parliament in January 2011 after allegations of misusing parliamentary travel allowances.<ref name="resignmp">Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life and family

Wong was born in Shanghai and raised in a one-room Hong Kong apartment by her mother, Pui Ching Chui, with her two brothers after her parents chose to leave Maoist China. Her father, Hung Shun Tsui, a seaman, was away most of the time for work. In Hong Kong, Wong took the English name Pansy and attended the Queen Elizabeth School.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="NZ Herald 2008 o787">Template:Cite web</ref>

The family emigrated to Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1974, when Wong was aged 19.<ref name="The Beehive 2009 f179">Template:Cite web</ref> While working in her parents' fish and chip shop, she studied commerce at University of Canterbury and graduated with a Master of Commerce.<ref name="NZ Herald 2008 o787" />

She is married to Malaysian-born businessman Sammy Teck Seng Wong, whom she met at university.<ref name="NZ Herald 2008 o787" /> Sammy Wong was a justice of the peace from 1998 until his retirement in 2020<ref name="New Zealand Gazette g505">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="New Zealand Gazette h984">Template:Cite web</ref> and had diverse business interests, including shareholder interests in the education, education, and transport industries.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite report</ref>

Wong speaks English, Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese.<ref name="Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga 2009 v213">Template:Cite web</ref>

Career

Wong's early career was in business and accounting, including a period as chief financial controller at Smiths City.<ref name="NZ Herald 2008 o787" /> Eventually she turned to governance and worked as a professional director with several government appointments.

In 1989, she was chair of the New Zealand Society of Accountants (Canterbury branch).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The same year, she contested the Canterbury Regional Council, in the five-member Fitzgerald constituency, on the Christchurch Action team ticket. Of the ten Christchurch Action regional council candidates that year, Wong was the only one to be elected.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During her seven years as a councillor, she chaired the finance committee and became known as the "$6 million woman" for overseeing budget cuts of that amount.<ref name="NZ Herald 2008 o787" /><ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>

By 1991 Wong had been appointed by the Fourth National Government to the governing council of Lincoln University.<ref name="Lincoln University Living Heritage: Tikaka Tuku Iho 2021 c499">Template:Cite web</ref> She was reappointed to a second term, scheduled to end in February 1997, but she retired early upon her election to Parliament.<ref name="Lincoln University Living Heritage: Tikaka Tuku Iho 2021 d773">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Lincoln University Living Heritage: Tikaka Tuku Iho 2021 z053">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1995, she was also appointed to the New Zealand Tourism Board.<ref name="New Zealand Gazette 1996 v422">Template:Cite web</ref>

Member of Parliament

Template:NZ parlbox header Template:NZ parlbox Template:NZ parlbox Template:NZ parlbox Template:NZ parlbox Template:NZ parlbox Template:NZ parlbox footerWong was encouraged to stand for Parliament by National MP for Fendalton Philip Burdon.<ref name="NZ Herald 2008 o787" /> She was selected as a list-only candidate for the National Party ahead of the 1996 general election. Based in Christchurch, she campaigned nationwide amongst Asian communities.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Wong was elected as a list MP on 14 October 1996, becoming New Zealand's first ethnically Asian MP. To mark her election, Wong released 130 balloons from the steps of Parliament, symbolising the 130 years since the first Chinese settlers arrived in New Zealand.<ref name="DigitalNZ 1997 l475">Template:Cite web</ref>

In her first term, she was appointed a member of the commerce committee and the justice and law reform committee.<ref name="New Zealand Parliament d531">Template:Cite web</ref> Her maiden statement, delivered on 19 March 1997, was described in The Dominion as "a feisty attack on racism against migrants."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She criticised the "unfair targeting of Asian immigrants," some of which was instigated by National's new partner in government, the New Zealand First party, but praised what she saw as the increasing acceptance of New Zealand's multiculturalism.<ref>Template:Cite hansard</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Wong rejected suggestions, including from Winston Peters, that she was a "token" representative for the Asian community and later said these events set her ambition of becoming an electorate representative to get a stronger mandate.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="The Beehive 2009 y487">Template:Cite web</ref>

She supported Jenny Shipley in the 1997 New Zealand National Party leadership election and was thereafter appointed to shadow the consumer affairs portfolio.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Wong took over the sponsorship of the Passive Resistance Sprays Reform Bill, originally in the names of Gail McIntosh and Joy McLauchlan, which would have enabled members of the public to carry items like mace for personal protection; the bill was defeated 52–68 in December 1998.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She sought the Christchurch Central candidacy at the 1999 general election, but was unsuccessful.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After the election, in which Wong was re-elected as a National Party list MP, she continued as a member of the commerce committee and was appointed spokesperson for energy and ethnic affairs, and associate spokesperson for commerce, in the Shipley shadow cabinet.

Ahead of the 2002 general election, Wong relocated to Auckland to contest the electorate of Auckland Central. She finished second to the incumbent, Judith Tizard.<ref name="NEW ZEALAND ELECTION RESULTS x361">Template:Cite web</ref> In her third term, Wong became deputy chair of the governance administration committee. She was spokesperson for ethnic affairs and tourism in the English shadow cabinet until 2003. The ethnic affairs portfolio was disestablished under Bill English's successor Don Brash and Wong was made National's liaison with the Asian community and allocated associate spokesperson roles related to education, immigration and revenue.<ref name="Eden 2005 s148">Template:Cite web</ref> She was returned as a list MP for the fourth time at the 2005 general election and was assigned the spokesperson portfolios in ethnic affairs and accident compensation by new leader John Key.<ref name="NEW ZEALAND ELECTION RESULTS v782">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

As National's ethnic affairs spokesperson, Wong was outspoken for Asian communities. She advocated for more lenient immigration rules, like easier language tests, to support a greater number of Asian migrants into New Zealand.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She dismissed the Labour government's 2002 apology to the Chinese community for the historic poll tax as staged and paternalistic, although was criticised for upsetting the descendants of those affected who had worked to secure the apology.<ref name="NZ Herald 2002 h626">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Rudman 2002 b100">Template:Cite web</ref> Wong, who was a proponent of Asian integration within New Zealand and did not believe there should be a stand-alone ethnic affairs ministry,<ref name="Laurence 2005 o330">Template:Cite web</ref> continued to face political attacks on the basis of her ethnicity and accent.<ref name="NZ Herald 2002 c568">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Young Young 2005 i081">Template:Cite web</ref>

Wong won the new electorate of Botany in the 2008 general election. Wong's decision to change to Botany was based partly on the fact that 33% of the Botany electorate is Asian.<ref name="dom_post_botany">Template:Cite web</ref> She left Parliament in early 2011.<ref name="resignmp" /><ref name="resignnbr">Template:Cite web</ref>

Minister in the Fifth National Government

After the 2008 general election, Wong was appointed Minister for Ethnic Affairs, Minister of Women's Affairs, Associate Minister for ACC, and Associate Minister for Energy and Resources in the Fifth National Government.<ref name="Herald online 2008 v935">Template:Cite web</ref> She said her appointment as New Zealand's first Asian Cabinet minister showed "New Zealand is a tolerant country where anyone can be accepted and succeed."<ref name=":1" /> In June 2009 she was additionally appointed an associate minister in the disability issues portfolio.<ref name="Gower 2009 x218">Template:Cite web</ref> While minister, Wong took ten overseas trips on ministerial business.<ref name="NZ Herald 2010 f747">Template:Cite web</ref>

Wong's ministerial career ended in scandal when it was claimed she improperly used her status to help her husband's business interests while travelling in China.<ref name="Cheng Cheng 2010 c909">Template:Cite web</ref> She resigned her positions when it emerged her husband, Sammy Wong, had accompanied her on ministerial visits overseas to conduct his business activities and used the address of her electoral office as the registered address for his businesses.<ref name="Young Young 2010 a575">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="resignmin">Template:Cite web</ref> An investigation concluded there was no systemic abuse of MPs' travel entitlements but ordered some costs to be repaid by the Wongs.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Herald online 2010 c074">Template:Cite web</ref> The events led to a review and change to the entitlements.<ref name="Trevett Trevett 2010 r874">Template:Cite web</ref> The Auditor-General considered investigating, but initially declined.<ref name="Bennett 2010 g390">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Herald online 2010 d681">Template:Cite web</ref> However, an audit investigation into the Wongs was launched in 2011 which recommended further repayments, as well as law changes regarding MPs' expenses and entitlements, be made.<ref name="Herald online 2011 u172">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Herald 2011 r831">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Office of the Auditor-General New Zealand 2023 r781">Template:Cite web</ref>

On 14 December 2010, Wong announced she would also resign from Parliament, effective from mid-January.<ref name="resignmp" /><ref name="resignnbr" /> She gave her valedictory statement on the same day.<ref name="New Zealand Parliament i087">Template:Cite web</ref> Jami-Lee Ross replaced her in the 2011 Botany by-election.<ref name="Sunday 2011 l219">Template:Cite web</ref> She was succeeded in her ministerial portfolios by Hekia Parata.<ref name="Trevett 2010 o684">Template:Cite web</ref>

Awards and honours

In 1993, Wong was awarded the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 15 September 2011 Wong was granted the right to retain the title of "the Honourable" for her lifetime in recognition of her term as a member of the Executive Council.<ref name="New Zealand Gazette 2011 v490">Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Parliamentary web page

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