Election 2025: AEC refers Clare O’Neil to integrity taskforce over Chinese polling booth recruits

Australia’s election watchdog has confirmed it will refer allegations that the Hubei Association was planning to send out dozens of Chinese volunteers for Labor Minister Clare O’Neil and the Greens Party to a national taskforce for investigation.

Labor frontbencher Clare O'Neil. Picture: Jason Edwards/NewsWire

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Australia’s election watchdog has confirmed it will refer allegations that the Hubei Association was planning to send out dozens of Chinese volunteers to Labor Minister Clare O’Neil and the Greens Party to a national taskforce for investigation.

The taskforce is made up of officials from several government agencies, including the federal police, ASIO and the AEC. Cabinet minister Ms O’Neil has been embroiled in an election-eve controversy over Chinese campaign volunteers, with confirmation 10 individuals linked to an organisation ­associated with Beijing’s foreign influence operation were being ­recruited to staff her polling booths on election day.

As part of their ongoing investigation into teal MP Monique Ryan’s campaign in Kooyong, the Australian Electoral Commission will review reporting of further irregularities concerning the Labor minister and a Greens candidate for the seat of Menzies.

A spokesperson for the AEC said on Wednesday that the agency was aware of the latest developments after The Australian revealed the organisation had been planning to release more volunteers at polling booths to campaign for Labor and the Greens.

“They will review all current reporting, and other available information, as part of what they’re looking into,” a spokesperson for the AEC said.

O’Neil rushes to axe Chinese recruits at her polling booths

The Australian can reveal ­Chinese-Australian Labor Party member Chap Chow, who describes himself as a “friend” of the minister he ass been “helping out”, organised with the Hubei Association in the past week to recruit volunteers for her electorate of Hotham.

But in a sudden about-face, Mr Chow contacted Hubei Association president Ji Jianmin on Tuesday morning – after news of its volunteers being involved in teal MP Monique Ryan’s Kooyong campaign broke, prompting the Australian Electoral Commission to order a federal investigation – to cancel the 10 volunteers.

Mr Ji told The Australian he was a supporter of Dr Ryan. “I think she represents our community quite well. I do like Monique Ryan. I feel like she’s a good community representative,” he said.

The Hubei Association has previously been accused of working with the United Front Department, a Chinese Communist Party agency tasked with spreading Beijing’s message overseas.

Labor has distanced itself from the plan to recruit the Hubei volunteers, describing it as an initiative from Mr Chow, who operates as a link between Melbourne’s Chinese community and the ALP.

Responding to a series of questions from The Australian, Ms O’Neil said in a statement about the offer of help from Hubei volunteers: “This organisation contacted my office earlier this week through an intermediary to offer volunteers, and my team politely declined.”

While Ms O’Neil suggested the contact had come from the Hubei Association, Mr Ji said the initial contact had come from her office.

Mr Chow said he had been in discussions with Hubei to recruit the volunteers and confirmed the plan was dumped on Tuesday. “Yes I did (cancel the request) this morning because of the media reports,” Mr Chow said. “That was the right thing to do after the media reports.

“I’m a friend of hers (Ms O’Neil), we’ve been friends for many years and I’ve helped her out in past elections.”

Kooyong teal independent Monique Ryan at an early-polling booth in Kew on Tuesday. Picture: Arsineh Houspian

In an interview conducted face-to-face with an ­interpreter, Mr Ji told The Australian that under the original plan 10 volunteers from his organisation were going to volunteer for Ms O’Neil. “Labor candidate Clare O’Neil’s office originally contacted Jimmy’s ­office for 10 volunteers for the ­election day on May 3,” the ­interpreter said.

“That was the original request, but this morning Jimmy received a message from her office that they are no longer needed because of the media reports. Jimmy said it was OK but was disappointed.”

Mr Ji also revealed the Greens had been in contact with Hubei.

“The Greens requested 10 volunteers as well. They are ongoing and four are currently campaigning, handing out flyers in the Menzies electorate,” he said.

Mr Ji rejected any suggestion the Hubei Association – or his involvement in local campaigns – was linked to Beijing’s foreign-­influence network. “I have lived in Australia for 29 years and became an Australian citizen on January 26, 2022,” he said. “I am an ordinary taxpayer living and working legally in Australia.” He said he had not received any funding from the CCP and warned that accusations of foreign interference could have a chilling effect on Chinese-­Australian civic participation.

“We are Australian citizens,” Mr Ji said. “We uphold Australian values. We serve and contribute to ­Australia – this is our responsibility and duty. If fulfilling our obligations as Australian citizens leads to ­Chinese communities being ­maliciously distorted, slandered and defamed, then what justice is left?”

In video footage uploaded to Facebook last week, volunteers wearing Dr Ryan’s campaign shirts said they were instructed to vote for her by the Hubei Association. In an interview with The ­Australian on Tuesday, Dr Ryan said the AEC’s referral to the Electoral Integrity Assurance Taskforce “seemed like a reasonable thing to do” and said she would be “very happy” to co-operate with any investigation.

Hubei Association president Ji Jianmin. Picture: Mohammad Alfares

“I was unaware of this video until it was brought to my ­attention via a media inquiry, and given the concerns that people have expressed around it, I contacted the AEC yesterday and gave them the background on the situation from my point of view,” Dr Ryan said.

“At that time … I said to the AEC, this is the situation, and I’d appreciate your advice about where to go to from here.

“All I’ve received from the AEC to date is an acknowledgment of that email. I haven’t received from them, as yet, any information about the referral to the Electoral Integrity Assurance Taskforce, but that seems like a reasonable thing to do.”

Dr Ryan said she had been ­unaware of the Hubei Association’s alleged links to the CCP before media reporting on Monday, but confirmed her campaign had not received any donations from the association, Mr Ji personally or from any other groups that she was aware they were linked to.

Dr Ryan said Mr Ji had attended a few community events she had run for the Chinese-Australian community in Kooyong, and at least two of the four or five open community meetings she has run in the past three years.

However, Dr Ryan said she had never had a long conversation with him. “I don’t actually remember having a one-to-one conversation with him about any specific issue,” she said. “I’ve never had a one-to-one meeting with him. He’s probably contributed to discussion in those sessions, but I’ve never had a specific conversation with him about any issue.”

Asked if she was personally concerned that foreign interference might be at play in the federal election and in the seat of Kooyong, Dr Ryan said: “In my instance, in my example, no.”

Additional reporting: Rhiannon Down