ICAC probes $100k donation to NSW ALP from Chinese developer

Billionaire developer Huang Xiangmo delivered cash donation in Aldi shopping bag, ICAC hears.

Developer Huang Xiangmo alleged $100,000 to NSW Labor is being probed by ICAC. Picture Renee Nowytarger.

Billionaire property developer Huang Xiangmo allegedly gave the NSW Labor Party a single $100,000 donation in cash that was a “pretend” or “straw” donation disguised as coming from many employees and others attending a party fundraising dinner, a corruption inquiry heard today.

At the opening of a six-week investigation by the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption it was revealed that 12 donors were disclosed by NSW Labor to have each given $5000 at a dinner held at the Eight Restaurant in Sydney’s Chinatown in March 2015.

But the ICAC’s counsel assisting Scott Robertson said that the NSW ALP’s community relations director Kenrick Cheah has since told the corruption body that Mr Huang attended the party’s headquarters a few weeks after the dinner and handed over $100,000 in cash.

The party secretary at the time was Jamie Clements, who was also responsible for NSW party fundraising as a key part of his job.

Mr Robertson said today Mr Cheah had told the ICAC following Mr Huang’s meeting with Mr Clements where $100,000 was handed over in a plastic Aldi shopping bag, the funds were handed to him by Mr Clements.

At the time, the cap for donations from individuals to political parties was $5700.

It was revealed today that one of 10 witnesses directly connected with donations at the dinner, Leo Liao, could not give evidence because he had committed suicide in June last year shortly before he was due to give ICAC evidence to a private compulsory examination.

Liao, who was the deputy general manager of Wu International, had signed up to attend the 2015 dinner as a VVIP or “very very important person” to purchase a table at the dinner, which was sponsored by Chinese Friends of Labor.

Then federal Labor leader Bill Shorten and state party leader Luke Foley attended the 2015. Mr Robertson said the ICAC wanted to make it clear that neither leader was the subject of its inquiries.

Mr Robertson said that the ICAC wanted to interview Mr Huang, but he had declined to co-operate so far - even by video link. Mr Huang was refused re-entry to Australia in December following advice to the federal government from ASIO that he posed a security risk. He is currently residing in China after being refused re-entry.

The ICAC inquiry into alleged circumventing of NSW electoral laws follows discrepancies in declarations from the NSW ALP found by the NSW Electoral Commission.

Witnesses expected to appear include NSW Labor general secretary Kaila Murnain and former NSW state MP Ernest Wong.

Ms Murnain was deputy to Mr Clements who managed Labor fundraising as NSW Party general secretary, the job now held by Ms Murnain. Mr Clements is widely expected to be called a witness later.

At the weekend, NSW Labor president Mark Lennon moved to reassure its members it remained committed to transparency and accountability. The letter to the party’s 17,000 members said governance improvements over the past few years had made the party a “more accountable, more transparent and more responsible corporate citizens’’.

During evidence today, Mr Cheah said that some donors had sought to give funds exceeding the then $5700 cap for individuals.

In his capacity as NSW community relations director responsible for “Labor action committees” such as Chinese Friends of Labor, Mr Cheah said he would tell donors they could not contribute above the limit.

But it was revealed today that donations among nine of those who attended the March 2015 dinner, two week’s before a state election, each gave total donations of $10,000 that were split into two lots of $5000 as separate donations for NSW Labor and another party entity, Country Labor.

Earlier, Mr Robertson said that five of these donors were employees of the Emperor’s Garden Restaurant, owned by the family of Labor donor Jonathan Yee, and that it was beyond the “financial capacity” of these employees to donate such amounts.

Mr Yee, who helped then NSW Labor upper house MP Ernest Wong organise the March 2015 dinner as a Chinese Friends of Labor event, also gave a total of $10,000 that was later split between NSW Labor and Country Labor.

It was revealed today that Sam Dastyari, who lost his position as a Labor senator because of scandals surrounding his close relationship to Mr Huang, was now a late addition to the ICAC witness list.

Mr Dastyari, who was Mr Clements’ predecessor as NSW party secretary before entering the Senate, was involved in considerable fundraising activities with Chinese community groups headed by Mr Huang when he was a party official.