Andrew Giles ‘rattled tin’ at Dan Andrews campaign events

Federal Multicultural Affairs Minister Andrew Giles has been the star attraction at four Andrews government election fundraisers.

Andrew Giles arrives at a fundraising event in Northcote, Melbourne, on Sunday night. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Federal Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Minister Andrew Giles has been the star attraction at four Andrews government election fundraisers, pocketing election campaign donations from Victoria’s Indian and Tamil communities.

In an escalation of the controversy around the Albanese government minister’s election tin rattling, The Australian can reveal Labor has repeatedly traded on his status to extract donations from multicultural communities in the past three months. In addition to two Tamil fundraising events this month – held on October 16 and Sunday night – promoting Mr Giles as the main drawcard, it has emerged the minister responsible for visa policies also attended two earlier multicultural fundraisers.

The new multicultural events — held on August 5 and September 24 in Melbourne’s western and southeastern suburbs — leave Mr Giles and Premier Daniel Andrews facing fresh accusations the ALP is exploiting the federal minister’s status. On Sunday night, as he walked into the Maharaja Palace restaurant in Northcote, Mr Giles defended his appearance at the Labor fundraisers.

Andrew Giles, centre, at the August 5 fundraising event

“In every way I go about my responsibilities I conduct myself ethically, there is nothing wrong with attending a fundraiser,” he said, but declined to answer further questions.

A Labor promotional brochure for the night billed Mr Giles as the main drawcard for the “Tamil community fundraising dinner” to “support Lily D’Ambrosio MP get re-elected in Mill Park”.

Tickets for the Maharaja Palace event cost $75, but guests were encouraged to buy sponsorship packages: bronze ($100), silver ($300) and gold ($500) for the three-course buffet dinner.

Ravi Ragupathy, an Indian-born independent candidate running for a seat in the upper house at the November 26 election, claimed Labor was using Mr Giles’ ministerial title to milk political donations from vulnerable communities who often confront visa and citizenship issues.

“The only reason Andrew Giles is at these fundraisers is because he is the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs,” Mr Ragupathy said.

“And Labor knows this will attract multicultural community members to buy tickets for fundraising.”

Daniel Andrews, right, next to Andrew Giles at the September 24 multicultural fundraiser.

The August 5 event was headlined the “Point Cook & Tarneit Fundraiser”, and Mr Giles was billed as the “special guest”, with his ministerial title clearly displayed on brochures.

While the brochures seen by The Australian didn’t specifically refer to a “multicultural” event, the fundraiser was heavily promoted through the Indian community on social media before and after the event.

Both electorates of Point Cook and Tarneit have big Indian populations.

The September 24 election fundraiser was headlined the “South eastern multicultural gala dinner” and a “multicultural gala fundraiser” in Dandenong and the brochure promoted Mr Giles and Mr Andrews as the night’s “special guests”.

The night at the Victorian Tamil Community Centre Palmyra Hall was billed as the “official launch of the 2022 south-eastern Labor election campaign”.

Andrew Giles, second from left, at the October 16 Tamil Labor fundraiser.

Twelve federal and state Labor MPs and candidates attended the event, which was hosted by veteran Labor MP Lee Tarlamis and Mental Health Minister Gabrielle Williams.

Guests paid $100 for the three course buffet and soft drinks, wine and beer and also enjoyed multicultural performances, auctions and raffles.

Mr Giles, who represents the electorate of Scullin in Melbourne’s outer northern suburbs, appeared at the October 16 lunch at the Gaylord Indian restaurant in Docklands to raise donations for Victorian Multicultural Affairs Minister Ros Spence’s election campaign.

During the lunch, Mr Giles was lobbied by community leaders pushing for changes to Australia’s visa rules, including issues relating to visa refusals and the points test for skilled migrants.