Why a teen Allegra Spender wore a hoodie to annoy mum Carla Zampatti

A teen Allegra Spender wore a hoodie to annoy fashion designer mum Carla Zampatti Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 5:00am As a child, Independent MP Allegra Spender spent her school holidays like many of us do: tagging along to her parents' work. If she wasn't stuffing envelopes for her father John Spender, the Liberal MP for the federal seat of North Sydney, she was with her mum, famed businesswoman and fashion designer Carla Zampatti. "I remember when I was about 11 and [my sister] Bianca was 12, [Mum] wanted us to realise how hard you need to work to be successful. And so, we used to work in her office every single school holiday," the member for Wentworth told Annabel Crabb on ABC iview's Kitchen Cabinet. Ms Spender said she loved her mum's business, but unlike Bianca, she never aspired to be a fashion designer. "When I was a teenager, I was like 'Oh mum, it's so superficial' and I used to wander around wearing hoodies just to annoy her. And she literally threw out some of my clothes because she hated them." Her mother made most of their clothes, while Spender begged her for a new pair of jeans. "She made us wear these Victorian kind-of-dresses made of cords with big, white, fluffy collars — like we walked out of some Victorian paintings." Despite this, nothing could prepare her for the awkwardness of going door knocking with her dad. "I found it so embarrassing that he would walk up and knock on people's doors. I used to hide at the bottom of the garden path going, 'Oh my God …'" Politics 'gives me a great deal of joy' Politics, especially the Liberal Party, have loomed large in Ms Spender's life. Her father joined Malcolm Fraser's government in 1980 before serving under opposition leaders Andrew Peacock and John Howard. Her grandfather, Sir Percy Spender, was a Liberal MP for Warringah who served under the Menzies government. He is known as the father of the Colombo Plan, which provided aid across South-East Asia, and negotiated the ANZUS treaty. Yet when considering a career in politics, the Teal independent — who recently confirmed plans to form a new political party alongside fellow independent Zali Steggall — said she "didn't see anyone I would want to join". Since becoming the MP for Wentworth, no Liberal leader has tried to lure her into the fold, either. "I mustn't look like a Liberal to them," she said with a laugh. But what did her father, who lost his own seat to an independent, think of her decision to enter politics? "I got this email at 3 o'clock in the morning, which was like, 'Darling, [these are] all the reasons why you shouldn't run.' But in the end, he was 100 per cent behind me." Her father would pass away almost six months after her election win. Ms Spender said politics was more enjoyable than she thought it would be. "I like helping people when they get stuck in a bureaucratic system, and I love public policy and having the opportunity to help shape that, to help debate that, to push it as far as I believe it can go," she said. "It gives me a great deal of joy." 'A proud migrant' After Ms Spender graduated from Cambridge and the University of London, a stint advising banana growers in Kenya followed. As did a role with consulting giant McKinsey. But despite her protestations about fashion as a teen, she eventually became the managing director of her mother's fashion label. The legendary designer grew up in rural Italy during World War II and arrived in Australia when she was 11. According to Ms Spender, her mother was a "very proud migrant" who was "incredibly grateful for the opportunities it gave to her". "She was a kid who got off a boat when she was 11 years old, didn't speak English, left school at 14. She ended up making a really big contribution to the country,"she said. Running for the seat of Wentworth shortly after her mother's death was the hardest decision Ms Spender's ever made. "I thought a lot about Mum when I made it, because she said, 'I only regret the things I didn't do'. "And I thought a lot about women, because one of the reasons why I stood was because I just believe you should have a parliament that reflects the country." About the current immigration debate, Ms Spender believes there are "fair questions about the number of immigrants". But she said it's challenging to "create a space where people feel that they belong and [there's] that sense of common ground, common values". "I think it takes work," she said. The 'greatest fear' realised The seat of Wentworth stretches from picturesque Watsons Bay to Clovelly and includes Bondi Beach. The MP and her family were at the beach on the day of the shooting in December 2025, leaving at about 5:30pm. Not long after, shots could be heard coming from the footbridge. "I think it's the greatest fear that I had for the community, because we've had so many anti-Semitic attacks," she said. "There was always a fear that there would be violence where people really got hurt." So how did she approach this unthinkable situation? "I think it's trying to be clear on what's your role. One is to hold the government to account on safety and security. The second piece is then about, what does the community need?" she said. "And it can be things like psychological support. It can be victim support. It can be immediate practical things." She said it's also thinking about rebuilding a sense of safety in the community. "It's one of the reasons I was really pushing for a royal commission, so that we got the answers that lead us most likely to minimising chances of things like this happening again," she said. "The country has changed, but it's up to us about how it changes us." Watch Kitchen Cabinet tonight at 8:30pm on ABC TV or on ABC iview.