Taskforce to investigate polling recruits for Clare O'Neil and Monique Ryan
The election integrity watchdog is investigating claims the office of Housing Minister Clare O'Neil requested campaign volunteers linked to a Chinese-Australian association with historical ties to the Chinese Communist Party, claims the Labor frontbencher rejects.
The Hubei Association entered the spotlight after this masthead published a video showing two people campaigning for teal MP Monique Ryan, who said they were directed to vote for her by Ji Jianmin, president of the group.
The Australian reported on Wednesday that 10 people linked to the Hubei Association were recruited by a grassroots Labor member known to O'Neil to help campaign for the minister in her Melbourne seat of Hotham.
O'Neil firmly denied the claims on Wednesday, saying the volunteers were offered by the group but declined by her office.
'I can be really clear with you there ... my staff and my office did not make any request for assistance from this organisation. The organisation offered assistance to the office, and my team did exactly the right thing, which is politely decline that offer of support,' O'Neil said on Channel Seven's Sunrise program.
The association led by Ji has previously been accused of working with China's United Front global influence operation.
Coalition campaign spokesman James Patterson called for an official probe of the volunteers after this masthead reported the Kooyong video, saying 'if confirmed, this would constitute an act of foreign interference in our democracy'.
The Australian Electoral Commission's integrity taskforce, made up of federal police and intelligence agencies, is looking into both Kooyong and Hotham.
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