He was educated at Mount Carmel College in Charters Towers, but left school early to become a shearer by trade.
He became involved with the Australian Workers' Union in 1942 and was involved with the union in many capacities throughout his life, including as secretary of their Queensland shearers' strike committee in 1945, variously holding every position in its Broken Hill, New South Wales branch between 1949 and 1957, and then as its organiser in Port Augusta, South Australia from 1957 to 1966.
He then variously served as state organiser, industrial advocate, president and secretary between 1966 and 1971.
[3] He was first elected to the House of Assembly at a 1971 by-election and first became a minister under Don Dunstan in 1975.
[3] His son, Michael Wright, was a state MP from 1997 to 2014 and a minister under Mike Rann.