Police ‘suspect Shaoquett Moselmane staffer John Zhang spied for China’

Police raided MP Shaoquett Moselmane over a suspicion that his staffer was covertly working for the Chinese government.

Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane and his part-time staffer John Zhang.

Police raided the home and office of MP Shaoquett Moselmane over a suspicion that his staffer was covertly working for the Chinese government to influence Australian politics and the policy positions of the NSW Labor Party.

Documents lodged by part-time staffer John Zhang’s legal team in a High Court challenge to the search warrants say police had narrowed their inquiries onto a “private social media chat group” in which Mr Zhang was thought to be advancing “the interests and policy goals of a foreign principal, being the Chinese government”.

Mr Moselmane has repeatedly denied any role in the national security investigation, which was brought to the public’s attention in June when extraordinary raids were executed on his home and parliamentary office. Mr Zhang’s home and office were also searched by Australian Federal Police agents under the auspices of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.

According to documents, Mr Zhang and unnamed others are alleged to have either concealed or failed to disclose to Mr Moselmane that they were acting on behalf of “Chinese state and party apparatus”, which were named as the “Ministry of State Security and the United Front Work Department”.

The Ministry of State Security is China’s intelligence, security and secret police agency; it is responsible for counter-intelligence, foreign intelligence and political security. The United Front Work Department is responsible for China’s network of foreign influence operations.

Mr Moselmane and Mr Zhang have been honorary members of two organisations — the Australian Chinese Association and Australian Shanghainese Association — which have been linked by China analysts to UFWD operations.

According to a section of the documents titled “factual background”, Mr Zhang is listed as an Australian citizen who immigrated from the People’s Republic of China in 1989. It says he began working for Mr Moselmane as a part-time staff member from about October 5, 2018.

Mr Moselmane is not a party to the High Court proceedings.

The documents further reveal that the AFP has been investigating a series of conversations and interactions that took place between July 1 last year and June 25 this year involving Mr Zhang and others who have not been named. These conversations were said to have occurred in the private social media chat group and “other fora”.

Mr Zhang has claimed parliamentary privilege over this data and other documents sought by the AFP, including from his shared parliamentary computer and his parliamentary email account. Whether this privilege can be applied will be examined by a NSW upper-house committee.

The documents state Mr Zhang’s conversations occurred with Mr Moselmane and were conducted “to advance the interests and policy goals” of the Chinese government in Australia” by providing “support and encouragement to Mr Moselmane for the advocacy of ‘Chinese State Interests’.”

Mr Zhang’s challenge to the AFP’s warrants is based on the validity of indictable offence provisions in the Commonwealth Criminal Code.

Police will also allege Mr Zhang’s conduct would influence the NSW branch of the Australian Labor Party’s policy positions and the “views of members of the NSW electorate on China”.