Liberal candidate faces more questions over undisclosed campaign spending

Liberal candidate for Bennelong Scott Yung failed to disclose potentially tens of thousands of dollars worth of electoral expenditure during the 2019 state election.

As he campaigned for the suburban Sydney seat of Kogarah, Yung engaged digital marketing agency Covert to run a social media content and distribution strategy on Chinese-language websites. But the agency’s work doesn’t appear on either Yung or the NSW Liberal Party’s disclosures for the election campaign, either as an electoral expense or in-kind donation.

Scott Yung, then the Liberal candidate for the state seat of Kogarah, sitting next to John Howard during a fundraiser at the Blue Angel restaurant.

The revelation comes just weeks after the Herald revealed Yung’s claims he fund-raised $60,000 during an intimate dinner with former prime minister John Howard at the Blue Angel restaurant in Darlinghurst. After questions arose, Yung conceded he “raised less than I had recalled at the time” but failed to specify the actual figure.

Liberal sources involved in the party’s 2019 state election campaign estimated the value of Covert’s campaign work could be in the tens of thousands of dollars. The primary marketing campaign in the seat of Kogarah, undertaken by the party’s creative agency, KWP Advertising, cost $47,000, according to disclosures with the NSW Electoral Commission.

“The Kogarah electoral role was geographically targeted on Facebook with an approximate reach of 60,000 people over the age of 18,” Covert’s website states.

“Covert went on to produce articles that were written in Chinese and distributed across WeChat media outlets as a way to build awareness for what Scott Yung stood for in the community.”

Covert director Peter Nay did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Yung outlined the strategy during a YouTube interview with Carrington Brigham, managing director of public relations firm Agenda C, in May 2019. The WeChat strategy involved publishing articles on Chinese language sites, Yung explained, focused on illustrating him as a candidate rather than just the party’s policies.

“We generated four articles, and each article ranged from somewhere between 10,000 views to over 30,000 views,” Yung said.

The articles on Yung’s WeChat profile were published across 10 days from March 12-22, 2019. The most viewed publication garnered 13,000 views and the others between 916 and 4449, according to WeChat analytics. But the Herald has identified at least four other advertorials about Yung not directly linked to his profile.

Under the NSW Electoral Funding Act 2018, indirect campaign contributions to a candidate are considered unlawful, including the “waiving of all or any part of payment … for advertising incurred or to be incurred”.

Yung did not respond to emails and calls requesting comment.

In response to questions, a NSW Electoral Commission spokeswoman said a search of published disclosures “did not identify any references” to Covert or Nay.

“Political parties and candidates are required to disclose yearly all electoral expenditure incurred during the 12-month period that ends on 30 June,” she said.

Asked by Sky News host Laura Jayes on Monday whether there were any other “skeletons in your closet” after the Herald’s story about his fundraising mishap and a deleted podcast previously revealed by this masthead, Yung did not respond directly.

“If that’s the best that the other side has. What I’m focused on is ensuring that we bring back strong economic management, to bring down the cost of living,” he said.

Pressed on whether he had been “upfront and honest”, Yung replied: “100 per cent.”

A spokesman for the Liberal Party said: “Covert was not a provider to the Liberal Party HQ campaign. The party complies with all of our electoral funding obligations under the relevant NSW and federal legislation.”

An advertorial published on WeChat and Sydney Today, an Australian Chinese-language site, on March 12, 2019 included the headline: “It’s a big hit. This Chinese guy is everywhere in Sydney! ‘The harder you work, the luckier you are!’ Countless Chinese and Australians were touched by him because of this.”

The fawning story lauds Yung’s “extraordinary emotional intelligence” and his popularity with “grandmothers and uncles who are especially good at judging people”.

“Everyone likes this sunny and talented guy,” the article says.

Another WeChat advertorial published on February 20 was accompanied by the headline: “This Chinese guy born in the 90s was named by the former Australian Prime Minister on the street! The four prime ministers supported him! His story is worth hearing from the whole world.”

Both articles were authored by Ao Jiaoge, chief executive of firm AJ Studio Marketing. The company’s website spruiks its work in advertorials, a form of advertisement produced in editorial form.

“We are renowned for being the experts of advertorials, having produced more than thousands of them altogether for our diverse clientele. Results speak louder than words – many of our clients have worked with us for years as they witness a spectacular growth in their publicity,” AJ’s website states.

Yung’s electoral expenditures don’t disclose any reference to AJ Studio Marketing.

AJ Studio did not respond to requests for comment.

Curiously, the YouTube interview with Brigham abruptly ends mid-sentence as Yung explains the distribution of the advertorial content, an aspect of the strategy he described as “very critical” before his response is muted.

Brigham attributed Yung’s truncated answer to poor editing on his behalf, but said he could not provide the video in full.

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