Australia ‘diminished’: Penny Wong’s frenetic mission to repair regional ties

Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, will have visited every member of the Pacific Island Forum and every member of Asean, except for Myanmar, in her first year in office. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

A year ago, Penny Wong claimed the Coalition had “dropped the ball” in the Pacific.

Now, as she marks one year as foreign affairs minister, Wong says Australia’s relationships across the region were in an even worse state than she initially believed.