Ex-Labor MP Ernest Wong denies cultivating billionaire as donor
Former state Labor MP Ernest Wong has rejected allegations he “cultivated” exiled Chinese billionaire Huang Xiangmo as a significant donor to the NSW Labor Party. During a cross-examination it was suggested Mr Huang’s donations were an important asset which helped secure Mr Wong’s political career.
NSW
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Former state Labor MP Ernest Wong has rejected allegations he “cultivated” exiled Chinese billionaire Huang Xiangmo as a significant donor to the NSW Labor Party.
During a cross-examination, Kaila Murnain’s lawyer Ian Neil suggested Mr Huang’s sizeable donations were an important asset which helped secure Mr Wong’s political career.
Ms Murnain succeeded Jamie Clements as NSW Labor general secretary but has been since been suspended from the position after giving evidence to the ICAC inquiry.
Mr Neil asked Mr Wong: “You knew that Mr Huang had been a donor to the Labor Party since about 2013 … from that time you cultivated Mr Huang as a donor to the Labor Party — do you agree?”
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Mr Wong replied: “No, I never cultivated Mr Huang because as I said before, it’s always under the party officials or the members themselves approach Mr Huang for funding, not me.”
Mr Wong denied Mr Huang was a “significant political asset” to him personally but accepted he was an important figure for the party.
Mr Neil asked: “Your cultivation of him was one way in which you could secure your political career — do you agree?”
Mr Wong replied: “No, not at all.”
Mr Neil also suggested Mr Clements, then general secretary, set fundraising targets specifically for Mr Wong to help finance the campaign of NSW Labor MP Chris Minns in 2015.
Mr Wong denied there was a specific fundraising target for the Labor fundraising dinner but accepted Mr Clements set him a target to help finance the campaign of Mr Minns.
The dollar figure of this target is not known.
Mr Wong then back-pedalled after previously agreeing Mr Clements set fundraising targets.
Under cross examination from Mr Clements’ lawyer Stephen Lawrence, it was put to Mr Wong that he was “never set any target in respect of the Minns campaign”.
Mr Wong accepted this.
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“The proposition I want to suggest to you is he (Clements) set those targets for you to raise money to help finance the campaign of Mr Chris Minns,” Mr Neil said.
Mr Wong replied: “Yes”.
Mr Minns said he couldn’t comment due to the ongoing inquiry.
Earlier Mr Wong was accused of giving “false and misleading evidence” to the corruption watchdog and constructing a fake “story” to match evidence he allegedly believed the inquiry held.
Counsel assisting Scott Robertson alleged the evidence Mr Wong gave during private examination last November differed to his testimony this week.
Mr Robertson alleged Mr Wong didn’t tell the Commission about two bags — one containing tens of thousands of dollars in cash and the other with receipts and a small sum of money from a raffle — when questioned last year.
The inquiry heard Mr Huang offered to take the bag of cash home after a Friends of Labor fundraising dinner on 12 March 2015 while Mr Wong took home the bag of receipts.
It’s alleged Mr Huang later personally delivered the bag of cash to Mr Clements.
Mr Robertson asked Mr Wong: “You’ve constructed a story that tries to match what you think is the evidence this Commission has but in doing that you’ve given false and misleading evidence to this Commission — do you accept that?”
Mr Wong denied the allegation and said he was not “making it up”.
He also rejected suggestions that he sold the head table at the dinner to Mr Huang for $100,000 and sought to “cover up” the contribution with “fake donors”.
The penalty for giving false and misleading evidence at ICAC is a maximum penalty of $20,000 or imprisonment for four years.
The inquiry also heard the $100,000 in cash from the dinner was not banked until April 9 — almost a month after the fundraiser and post the NSW election.
It comes after Mr Wong said he’d had a conversation with Mr Clements a day or so after the dinner indicating Mr Huang would deliver the money shortly.
Mr Wong said he couldn’t remember receiving any queries about the missing money.
Chief Commissioner Peter Hall asked: “It is strange indeed is it not that almost … a month went by after the fundraiser — no money is delivered representing the takings of the fundraiser on the 12 March, no queries made from head office to you, is this right, as to where the money is?”
Mr Wong said: “To my best recollection I did not remember … I didn’t pay attention to it at all”.
Mr Hall then suggested to Mr Wong that “as a man of the world you know the ALP would be very concerned that if $100,000 in cash hadn’t arrived within a week of your conversation with Mr Clements”.
Mr Wong said: “Yes”.
An email tendered to the inquiry showed ALP staffer Kenrick Cheah contacted Mr Wong to follow up on the money several days after the dinner on March 16.
It read: “Could I ask you to bank the money with Head Office at your earliest opportunity, with not long left in this campaign, the faster we receive this money, the faster we can spend it on target seats.”
“This election is getting super close and your groups contribution’s (sic) could make a huge difference.”
Mr Wong said he did not recall providing any response to the email.
Mr Wong’s assistant Jiayi Huang is also expected to appear before the inquiry to give evidence for the first time.