Gladys Berejiklian trying to woo high-profile former Liberal Dai Le
PREMIER Gladys Berejiklian is secretly lobbying a locally popular Vietnamese refugee who was dumped from the Liberal Party to run for a key Western Sydney seat, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
PREMIER Gladys Berejiklian is secretly lobbying a Vietnamese refugee who was dumped from the Liberal Party to run for a key Western Sydney seat.
High-profile Fairfield councillor Dai Le was suspended from the party for 10 years for running as an independent against an endorsed Liberal at the 2016 council elections.
Under party rules, members must not run against endorsed candidates.
However, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal the locally popular anti-bullying and women’s affairs advocate is being personally wooed by the Premier to run for the seat of Cabramatta. The latest approach was made last Sunday at the Moon Festival.
MORE FROM LINDA SILMALIS
Tony Abbott’s daughter dating fellow minister’s son
Luke Foley to restore Bondi Pavillion to glory days
Barnaby Joyce’s rift with daughters may be over
Ms Le declined to comment when approached by The Sunday Telegraph, but sources close to the Multicultural NSW board member said she was seriously considering the proposal.
If she accepts it would be the third time the former staffer of federal treasurer Joe Hockey has contested the safe Labor seat, which is held by Labor MP Nick Lalich with a 15 per cent margin and is home to a large Vietnamese community.
Ms Le, a breast cancer survivor, is a well-known community figure in southwestern Sydney. She recently spoke of being bullied while on council, writing in an online women’s forum called Women’s Agenda about how she “grappled internally” about whether it should be reported to the Office of Local Government or “if I should just take it on the chin”.
“The OLG did not respond. I also reported the matter to the NSW Liberal Party and nothing was done either,” she wrote.
At same time, Ms Le’s controversial council colleague Frank Carbone — who was expelled from the Labor Party for also running against an endorsed candidate at the council elections — could also soon be reinstated.
Party sources say Mr Carbone, whose brother is high- profile property developer Pat Carbone, has threatened to run for a state seat as an independent should his membership not be reinstated.
There are fears the popularly mayor, who won the position despite his expulsion, could challenge Labor MP Guy Zangari in the seat of Fairfield.
Mr Carbone has enlisted Labor frontbencher Chris Bowen and Werriwa MP Chris Hayes to help in his bid to be returned. Labor sources say state Opposition Leader Luke Foley has indicated he would prefer Mr Carbone to be reinstated.