NSW Election 2023: Cabramatta independent candidate Kate Hoang reveals why she left NSW Labor

A Vietnamese lawyer and hopeful state MP has revealed why she has elected to run as an independent, following her experience as with the NSW Labor Party.

Former Labor Cabramatta member Kate Hoang alleges she was bullied by party figure. Picture: Facebook.

A Vietnamese lawyer and hopeful Cabramatta MP has spoken of her poor experience with NSW Labor after she sensationally resigned from the political party.

Kate Hoang was a member of the NSW Labor Party since 2018 but in recent weeks, following a failed preselection bid to be the party’s Cabramatta candidate, she left the party to run as an independent candidate for the same seat.

Ms Hoang said her experience with Labor “wasn’t a pleasant one”, claiming she was threatened last year by a party figure regarding a non-invite to a Vietnamese community event in 2021. In the same conversation, reference was made to Ms Hoang handing out flyers for Banks federal Liberal MP David Coleman in 2019, while she was a Labor branch member.

The political hopeful said she was asked: “do you remember what you did in May 2019”.

“I said ‘I don’t remember’ but they said ‘you will remember soon, you will see’ and they walked away,” Ms Hoang said.

The lawyer said she handed out the flyers in light of her role as vice-president of the Vietnamese Community in Australia NSW chapter, and did not believe she was doing anything wrong.

Former Labor Cabramatta member Kate Hoang alleges she was bullied by a senior MP in the party. Picture: Facebook

“I was acting as a head of the community. I didn’t know I could not hang out flyers for different political parties,” she said.

Ms Hoang reported the conversation that she had with the Labor figure, which she deemed as a threat, in an email to Australian Labor Party NSW Branch general secretary Bob Nanva on January 9 but received no response.

Kate Hoang has since left the Labour Party after being a member since 2018. Picture: Supplied

A NSW Labor spokesman said the incident would not be referred to for an independent investigation because Ms Hoang was no longer a member of the party.

Now, running as an independant, Ms Hoang said she had lived in Fairfield all her life and she wanted to be the voice of the community.

“As an independent I can help the community more and I am not influenced by the policies of the party and can cater to the community,” she said.

Ms Hoang is fighting for better funding for Fairfield Hospital - dubbed Sydney’s “forgotten” hospital.

“I joined (the Labor Party) in the hope to fight for equality,” she said. “But both political parties are ignoring our area when it comes to funding. ”