Libs admit Chinese diaspora failings on listening tour

Perth Now

5 days ago

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has met Chinese community and business leaders as the Liberals work to rebuild trust with a demographic that largely abandoned the party at the federal election.
Ms Ley said she heard examples of racism and hatred that plagued the community that "made us very angry and very distressed".
"We didn't get everything right at the last election and I made it clear that I wanted a valuable, ongoing conversation," she told reporters after Monday's meeting in northwest Sydney, admitting the party struck the wrong cord with the diaspora.
"Protection from hate for our migrant communities should always be front and centre."
Ms Ley didn't answer whether an apology was issued for comments made during the election campaign by a senior Liberal senator about potential "Chinese spies" being embedded in Labor's campaign.
It followed media reports alleging Chinese Communist Party-linked volunteers were helping Labor during the May election campaign.
"I'm not going to go into the private discussions that we had today, but I am going to say that I freely admit that we did not get it right, that our tone wasn't right and the messaging wasn't right and that we needed to change course," Ms Ley said.
Shadow attorney-general Julian Leeser said Chinese Australians raised concerns about being able to contribute to their community.
"That was a very strong message that came through the valuing of communities, so those issues will very much be front and centre when we consider policies going forward," he said.
Parramatta Labor councillor Michael Ng said the Liberal Party lost the trust of the Chinese community due to its harsh rhetoric and lack of action to protect the diaspora.
Cr Ng wasn't at the roundtable but said he had heard concerns from Chinese Australians about their disappointment in the Liberal Party and some of that went back to how they were treated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"When it comes to election time, they try to say 'we support you', but when you look at the shadow ministers, their rhetoric doesn't support that," he told AAP.
An analysis of comments on Chinese social media platform WeChat carried out by Australian-Chinese Relations Institute deputy director Wanning Sun found the Liberals lost the trust of Chinese voters, pointing to hawkish language by shadow ministers against China.