Plan B Forum

Federal Finance Minister Penny Wong and her partner are having a baby.



Finance Minister Penny Wong has announced she and her partner, Sophie Allouache, are expecting a child in December.

In a statement, Senator Wong says the child was conceived through IVF and the biological father is a friend who will be known to the child.

"Like any expecting parents, the prospect of welcoming this child into our lives fills us both with joy," Senator Wong said.

"We are extremely grateful to our IVF service and staff, and to our donor, for giving us the opportunity to raise a child together."

Senator Wong says she has made the announcement because there may be public interest due to her position, but she asks that the couple's privacy be respected.




Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/penny-wo ... z1UUc1D5O8

Penny Wong: Australia's non-story of the week


Imagine the outcry in America if a senior cabinet member in the Obama administration had announced she was about to have a baby with her gay partner.

I'm thinking protests from the Christian Right outside the Treasury Department. Fiery on-screen denunciations from some leading television evangelists. Perhaps one or two preachers might even have blamed America's demotion from AAA to AA+ status on the moral impoverishment of its financial officials. The unborn baby would have quickly become the latest proxy in America's ongoing culture wars.

In Australia, however, the news that Finance Minister Penny Wong and her partner, Sophie Allouache, are expecting a child has generated a minimum of fuss. Indeed, I can report that it has been the non-story of the week.

They conceived using IVF with the help of an anonymous sperm donor. They underwent the procedure outside of their home state of South Australia because IVF for gay couples there is illegal.

Ms Wong decided to announce the news earlier this week because she acknowledged there would be interest from the public as a result of her high-ranking position within the government and because she wanted to protect her pregnant partner from any undue publicity.

Though a strong advocate of same-sex marriage - a stance that puts her at odds with Prime Minister Julia Gillard - Ms Wong said she was not making a political point.

''You have a child because you want a family and you want to have the opportunity of raising a child together," she told Phillip Coorey of the Sydney Morning Herald.

"You don't have a child to make a political statement."

Julia Gillard publicly congratulated her friend and trusted colleague, as did Julie Bishop, the acting opposition leader.

The only politician I have seen publicly criticise Ms Wong is the Reverend Fred Nile of the Christian Democratic Party, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council and a self-styled protecter of public morals. In the upper house of the New South Wales parliament, for instance, he claims to hold what he calls "the balance of prayer".

"I'm totally against a baby being brought up by two mothers - the baby has human rights," said Rev Nile. "It's a very poor example for the rest of the Australian population."

He also criticised Penny Wong's decision to make public the news. "It just promotes their lesbian lifestyle and trying to make it natural where it's unnatural," he said.

But his has been a fairly isolated public voice.

What can we draw from all this? The first point to make is that Australia's culture wars are very different from America's culture wars.

On the other side of the Pacific, the battles tend to focus on moral and faith-based issues, like abortion, creationism and same sex marriage. In Australia, the battleground is history, the related issue of indigenous rights, art and the environment. True, the question of same-sex marriage is starting to loom larger as an issue - the Labor Party national conference will debate it in December, and the emboldened Australian Greens are pressing for reform.

But it generates nowhere near the same passion as it does in the US.

When it comes to personal morality, Australia has moved away from the prudish censoriousness that was such a strong feature of national life until the early 1970s, and perhaps beyond. And though it remains a fairly socially conservative country - the continued influence of the Catholic Church is a key factor - it is also a socially tolerant country.

Again, this explains why Ms Wong's announcement has generated so little controversy.

Finally, Ms Wong is yet another reminder of the changing face of Australia. She is not only the first openly gay federal cabinet minister, but the first Asian-born minister. She came to Australia from Malaysia.

To these firsts, I dare say she would like another: that of being the first Australian politician to take part in a same-sex marriage.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14508659

ANDREW BARR: WHEN IS A WEDDING NOT A WEDDING?

Young Australian politician Andrew Barr, writes here for The Gay Marriage Blog, about how he asked his boyfriend to marry him, how his family and friends recently attended what they called a wedding – and why he’s still not allowed to call it a wedding.

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In the lead up to our ceremony I was struck by many conflicting emotions. Pride, joy and optimism are the overwhelming feelings – this is a marriage in my eyes, our marriage. But those feelings are tempered by a frustration that significant social change in my country is still some way off.

Our civil partnership at the National Library had great timing – we used our ceremony to celebrate 10 years of being together – and that same week in November 2009 the ACT Legislative Assembly passed new laws giving us the right to that ceremony. The formalities were taken care of the day before at ACT Births, Deaths and Marriages Unit.

http://www.andrewbarr.com.au/gay-and-le ... riage-blog

The Hen wrote:I am pleased that it was just accepted as normal by all and sundry and no special attention was placed on the announcement.
... "

THE federal Finance Minister, Penny Wong, and her partner, Sophie Allouache, have become parents.

On Sunday morning, while Senator Wong's colleagues were sweating over an imminent cabinet reshuffle, Ms Allouache gave birth to a daughter, Alexandra, at Adelaide's Women and Children's Hospital.

Baby Alexandra came nine days early but is happy and healthy, as is Ms Allouache.

''Like any family welcoming a new addition, we are looking forward to spending time at home together and ask for our privacy to be respected at this time,'' Senator Wong said yesterday.

Senator Wong had announced the impending birth in August after agonising over whether to tell anyone. She understood there were some in the community still uncomfortable with the concept of two women having a child.

She stressed at the time the baby was not intended to be a political statement: ''You have a child because you want a family and you want to have the opportunity of raising a child together.''

The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, congratulated her minister yesterday: ''I am thrilled for Penny and Sophie. This is wonderful news, and Alexandra is beautiful and a source of joy.''

Alexandra was born just a week after Labor debated the issue of gay marriage at its national conference, a debate which Senator Wong led.



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/baby-bon ... z1gSRlvJj4

Gob wrote:Two Wong's don't make a ....

Sue U wrote:At my last firm, two of our paralegals were Dina White and Ellen Wong. You can imagine the hilarity distinguishing White from Wong.

loCAtek wrote:Actually, the donor need not have been Asian. Biologically, Asian genes are dominant and Caucasian genes are recessive; meaning whatever the race of the father, the child will look Asian.

Scooter wrote:I'm trying to imagine which would get Dave more furious, his son coming home and saying "Dad, I'm marrying a black woman" or "Dad, I'm marrying a guy."

Oh what the heck, let's assume the son comes home and says, "Dad, I'm marrying a black guy," because we know his head will explode.