Anoulack Chanthivong could not speak a word of English when he arrived in Australia with his family at the age of six.
Forty years later he is a minister in the Minns Labor Government. And he doesn’t just have one portfolio. Or two. Or three. Or four.
The boy from Laos is the minister for five departments: Better Regulation and Fair Trading, Industry and Trade, Innovation, Science and Technology, Building, and, finally, Corrections – with 31 prisons across NSW.
That’s a lot of hats, and, on top of it all, he’s the father of two young children.
So what I want to know when we sit down for a chat in his electorate office in Ingleburn recently is, well, how does he juggle all of that.
“My style is to look each one of those portfolios and prioritise what I think are the three most important areas of focus,’’ says Chanthivong, who will celebrate his 47th birthday on July 20.
“Clear direction about what I want and what I expect the public service to deliver is everybody’s focus, and it keeps all of us accountable.
“There’s regular meetings with the department heads, plus I have very good staff, here in the electorate office and ministerial staff, everybody works hard, and does the right thing for the people of NSW.
“I may have many ministerial hats, but my first job is always as the Member for Macquarie Fields, a community that I love, that I’ve grown up in, my family are here, my friends are still here, so I am always passionate about my local community,’’ he says.
“And I can’t be a minister unless I am the member of Macquarie Fields.
“I always remind myself that the most important title that I’ve got is to be the local community member,’’ says Minister Chanthivong.
The Minns Government was elected on the last Saturday of March 2023 and the member for Macquarie Fields embarked on his ministerial career a few days later.
Nearly 15 months into the job, he is still very much enjoying the challenges of running all those portfolios – and a reasonable life-work balance.
“It has been a busy, busy year, all my portfolios are very important, all affect everyday life, from buying a home to keeping the community safe,’’ he says.
“It’s been fantastic, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.
“I do pinch myself that I get this great job to advocate for the community, but also to do broader things for NSW in each of those portfolios.
“I am also in charge, I should also add, of the NSW State Insurance regulatory agency, as well, workers compensation schemes, compulsory third party insurance to make sure people who are in accidents get looked after.
“I am blessed to have a lovely family environment, my wife and two kids, and my mum and dad, who help us out with child care arrangements, no different from any other loving grandparent out there.
“We’re similar to most households these days, both parents working, trying to pay the mortgage, cost of living, all of those things, we’re no different from any other family that works just as hard,’’ says Chanthivong.
He now turns his attention to his other portfolios of father and husband, saying: “My personal responsibility is always the welfare and wellbeing of my kids.
“Anna and I communicate clearly, Anna’s always been very supportive of the work that I do, I don’t delegate all the household chores, we share it,’’ he says.
“I am very lucky we’ve got mum and dad living down the road, and my wife’s family also, so that helps both professionally and personally.
“Having a supportive family and a work life balance allows me to do my job, effectively in my view,’’ he says.
“You’re always on call in this job, so your phone never stops ringing, but spending time with my kids as they grow up, I don’t want to be missing their first swimming lesson, soccer game, school presentation,’’ he says.
“On weekends, I certainly go to events, but I also make sure I devote a lot of time to my kids.’’
At this point we return to his ministerial portfolios and which one has so far given him the most satisfaction.
“One minute I am looking at an innovative tech industry and the next minute at Corrections,’ he says.
“For example, this week I started at an Orange winery; because of the Chinese Government reducing trade on our wine I want to make sure that NSW wine, which is one of the best in the world, can access those markets.
“Then I went to our Corrections community office and met with our staff there, then it was on to Charles Sturt University to look at what IBM is doing, and from that I went to Bathurst jail to see how it operates and some of the programs, such as an indigenous art gallery for our inmates.
“It’s full on, never a boring day in my portfolios, each one different, each one is an opportunity to make reform and change to deliver better outcomes.’’
Anoulack Chanthivong has been in parliament since 2015, but has no plans for retirement just yet.
“I will stay for as long as the people of Macquarie Fields will have me,’’ he says.
“One of the great things about democracy is that every four years I have to reapply for my job as the local member.
“And I will certainly be reapplying for my job in 2027; a job that I love, a community that I care about, and trying to deliver the things that matter for the people of Macquarie Fields, honest, decent people who work very hard.
“I have been in this community since 1988, and to be able to represent it, to advocate for it and deliver for it, it means a lot to me.
“I get a lot of satisfaction to know that I get to do this on behalf of the people I’ve grown up with, my family and friends, my community.’’
