Liberal Party the big winner with Chinese voters after Labor and unions ‘racist’ campaign backfires

LABOR and the unions’ “racist” campaign against Chinese investment in the state’s electricity network is being blamed for a swing towards the Liberal Party in seats such as Oatley.

Mark Coure At Home

LABOR and the unions’ “racist” campaign against Chinese investment in the state’s electricity network is being blamed for a swing towards the Liberal Party in seats such as Oatley, in Sydney’s southwest, that have substantial Chinese populations.

Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey described the anti-Chinese scaremongering of Labor and the unions as “backdoor xenophobia”.

The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union began TV ads last Monday warning that leasing 49 per cent of the electricity to a foreign country was “just not on”.

How the lower house is playing out after the election.

The union also said the NSW Treasurer Andrew Constance was having “secret” meetings with representatives of the Chinese government over the leasing plan.

Mr Hockey said yesterday the campaign against Chinese investment in the state’s publicly-owned poles and wires network was an example of “backdoor xenophobia that Australians hate”.

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“There was an element of xenophobia and racism involved in the NSW Labor campaign that I have not seen in more than 20 years in politics,” Mr Hockey said.

“It was outrageous for a mainstream party to engage in the racism that the Labor Party engaged in.”

How the lower house is playing out after the election.

During the campaign, Opposition Leader Luke Foley said he did not trust the Foreign Investment Review Board to protect NSW residents in the event of a power sale to Chinese interests.

Mr Foley also said Chinese investment could present a security risk and claimed ASIO would be interested in it.

Despite the widespread ­opposition to Labor and the unions’ scaremongering, Mr Foley defended Labor’s campaign yesterday.

“My view is the very large swing to Labor – 9 per cent swing, a 14-seat lift – was based in part on the unpopularity of Mr Baird’s privatisation policy,” he said. “I also presented a swag of other policies to the electorate – positive plans.

How the lower house is playing out after the election.

“I said on day one I would lead a party of policies, never a mere party of protest, and that’s what I’ll continue to do.”

But senior Liberal sources said the strongest gains in Oatley were in booths with a high Chinese population.

However, leaked Reachtel polling conducted before the offending CFMEU ads aired showed Labor was already struggling in the seat, with only 44 per cent of the primary vote compared to the Liberals’ 55 per cent.

A Labor source pointed to the strong result of Chris Minns in Kogarah, who received a 2 per cent swing towards the party in an electorate 40 per cent Chinese.

“If there was a swing (based on the CFMEU ad) it was very small, but I don’t believe there was one at all,” the source said.

Slur helped popular Liberal MP retain his seat

Liberal MP Mark Coure with his wife Adla and their one-year-old son James at their home in Penshurst yesterday. Picture: Kristi Miller

RETURNING Liberal Oatley MP Mark Coure not only retained his seat, but scored more votes than he did in the historic 2011 Labor wipeout.

Mr Coure put his win down to two things: hard work, and Labor and the unions’ offensive campaign against potential Chinese ownership of part of the state’s electricity network.

“It has been a four-year campaign for me,” Mr Coure said yesterday.

“But of course, Luke Foley’s comments in regards to the poles and wires certainly pulled votes across the electorate, particularly in areas with high Chinese populations. It did not go down well at all.”

A senior Liberal source said the union-Labor campaign had been grossly offensive to voters of Chinese descent.

“If you are Chinese, or of Chinese descent, a small business person, or a professional person in Oatley, and you saw that being played out, not only is it offensive culturally, and racially, but it is just stupid,” the source said.

But a Labor source claimed the anti-Chinese scare tactics did not affect the Oatley result, instead putting Mr Coure’s remarkable win down to the fact that he is a hugely popular local member.

“He was the only MP in focus groups that people could name,” the Labor Party source said yesterday.

“He is extremely well-known and very popular.”

The electorate of Oatley in southern Sydney takes in the suburbs of Hurstville, Penshurst, Oatley and Mortdale.

With a swing of 3.1 per cent, it was one of five seats that swung towards the Liberals, the others being East Hills (0.8 per cent), Drummoyne (2.7 per cent), Seven Hills (0.6 per cent) and Parramatta (2.2 per cent).