NSW Election 2023: Flyers encourage residents to not vote for Kate Hoang

An independent candidate running in southwest Sydney has been targeted with flyers encouraging people to not vote for her, alleging she had hacked phones and insulted priests.

An independent candidate running for the seat of Cabramatta has been targeted after flyers encouraging people to not vote for her, including allegations she had hacked phones and insulted priests and monks, were distributed at a pre-polling booth.

Footage filmed on Saturday at Cabramatta Rd, Cabramatta capture a woman handing out flyers with the slogan “no vote for Kate Hoang (sic)”, alongside a how to vote card for Liberal candidate Courtney Nguyen.

A Liberal Party spokesman said the woman distributing the flyers was not a member of the Liberal party or a member of the campaign team and as soon as the Cabramatta Liberal candidate was made aware, she immediately asked the individual to stop distributing them and to leave.

Ms Hoang told this publication the Vietnamese text on the flyer translated to “Do not vote for Kate Hoang” because she did: insulting the elders and volunteers, insulting religion, monks and priests, calling volunteers as slaves, swearing to female committee members, hacking volunteers phones”. and listed a number of allegations which Ms Hoang says are false.

Ms Hoang said she was unsure why she was being targeted, and why the flyers were being handed out alongside Liberal voting guides. “I think people can see my support is strong and they’re worried I will swing the vote,” she said.

Independant candidate for Cabramatta, Kate Hoang was targeted after flyers encouraging people to not vote for her were distributed at a pre-polling booth. Picture: Facebook

Ms Hoang denied all the allegations on the flyer and said it was an attempt to “attack my credibility that is driven by political incentives.”

In emails seen by this publication, NSW Liberal Party state director Chris Stone told Ms Hoang the individual “was not authorised or asked to hand out these materials by either our organisation or the Liberal candidate”.

The flyer that was distributed at a pre-polling booth in Cabramatta. Picture: Supplied.

“On becoming aware what this individual was up to, the Liberal candidate directly asked them to stop distributing any Liberal materials they had in their possession immediately, and they will not be allowed near Liberal materials in the future,” the email states.

The flyers were authorised by a Thi Nguyen, with the listed address of Than and Co. Solicitors. The firm’s principal Andrew Than confirmed the address listed on the flyer was his business and said he was “aware of the flyer and its contents.”

He said Thi Nguyen does not work for Than and Co Solicitors but was authorised to use the business address.

A Liberal Party spokesman confirmed the woman distributing the flyers was not a Liberal member or a member of the volunteer team. Picture: Supplied.

Mr Than said he has known Ms Hoang a “very long time”.

“It’s my belief if she (Kate Hoang) is elected, it would be very detrimental for the Vietnamese and Australian community and damaging to the electorate of Cabramatta,” he said.

In another email, the NSW Electoral Commission advised Ms Hoang the flyer met the authorisation requirements as it included “the name and full street address of the person authorising the material, and the name and address of the printer of the material”.

The email advised the commission regulated “misleading” electoral material which influenced how a ballot paper was marked.

An AEC spokeswoman told this publication unless permitted by law, the commission does not comment on specific compliance matters or confirm if incidents were being investigated.