Australian Electoral Commission refers Monique Ryan volunteers ‘Beijing links’ video to integrity taskforce

Australia’s election watchdog has asked a national electoral taskforce, which includes the ASIO and AFP, to examine a video of two of Kooyong MP Monique Ryan’s Chinese campaign volunteers.

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Australia’s election watchdog has referred a video involving Kooyong MP Monique Ryan’s campaign volunteers to a national taskforce for investigation, after footage emerged of volunteers saying they were directed to vote for her by groups accused of ties to Beijing’s foreign influence operations.

A spokesperson for the Australian Electoral Commission said the agency had become aware of the footage when it was published on Monday and launched a review.

“This includes referral for consideration by the Electoral Integrity Assurance Taskforce,” it said in a statement.

“It is important to note that Australia has a secret ballot. Nobody knows how another individual votes. Your vote is your choice. We have also published advice to voters about influence in Australian elections, including a general reminder for all voters that every voter is responsible for making their own decision”.

The taskforce is made up of officials from several government agencies, including the AEC, ASIO and the federal police.

Earlier, Ms Ryan said she had herself referred to the AEC allegations that volunteers with alleged links to the Chinese Communist Party were directed to campaign for her.

In footage uploaded to a local Facebook group on April 22, two individuals wearing “Monique Ryan” campaign shirts claimed Ji Jianmin, president of the Hubei Association, had directed the Chinese diaspora to support the teal MP.

In the video, a volunteer named Jessica says: “The Hubei Association President Ji Jianmin, how should I say this, he required us Chinese diaspora to support her.”

Another volunteer who goes by the name Stephen adds: “Monique is an independent federal MP, her policies are quite suited to the needs of us Chinese dias­pora. It feels like she can give a voice to us, so we want to support her.” The footage has since been deleted.

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

The volunteers in the video.

The teal independent MP dismissed scrutiny over the video while raising concerns that a Christian sect had been campaigning for the Coalition.

Speaking outside a pre-polling site, Dr Ryan said the man in question had attended events and roundtables she had hosted for the Chinese community in her seat of Kooyong, but she had no direct relationship with him.

“I’ve never had a one-on-one meeting with him and I’ve never had his support in any direct way,” Dr Ryan told Sky News.

“In the interest of full transparency I’ve contacted the AEC and the Department of Parliamentary Services agency and given them the details I gave to The Age yesterday about my relationship with those volunteers and (man).”

Dr Ryan said she had worked hard to represent the Chinese-Australian community.

“I’m grateful for the support the Chinese Australians have given me in the last three years, and I’ve tried to work hard for the Chinese-Australian community in Kooyong,” Dr Ryan said.

“Twenty per cent of the constituents of Kooyong are Chinese-Australian, and they just have to be represented. I’ve tried to do that.

“I’m not sure about the interpretation of that video whether it’s accurate, but you know, certainly no one’s been compelled to volunteer for me, but I’m grateful for those people who’ve come out to volunteer on my campaign.”

Dr Ryan said many voters would hold concerns that the Coalition had “aligned” itself with an extremist group known as the Plymouth Brethren or the Exclusive Brethren.

“We’ve heard overnight that some of those people are Exclusive Brethren, so they’ve joined up with a religious sect to bring in large numbers of volunteers,” Dr Ryan said.

“The circumstances of the arrangement that the Liberal Party might have with the Executive Brethren is not clear.

Teal independent MP Monique Ryan says she has not been lobbied by any of the volunteers seen in the social media post. Picture: Brendan Beckett

“I think some people would have concerns about the Liberal Party aligning itself with an organisation that doesn’t believe in evolution and is firmly against gender equity and doesn’t allow its members to vote.

“There’s some questions about how the campaign is being run by the Liberal Party, and I suggest that maybe you should ask the Liberal candidate for her thoughts about that.”

Opposition home affairs spokesman and Coalition campaign spokesman James Paterson seized on the development on Monday night, saying the revelations were serious and, if confirmed, would constitute “interference in our democracy”.

“Australian elections must be decided by Australians only. The Electoral Integrity Assurance Taskforce, led by the AEC and incorporating (the) ASIO and the Australian Federal Police, must urgently investigate,” Senator Paterson said.

“Monique Ryan must be transparent about her knowledge of and involvement in this alleged scheme.”

On Monday night, Dr Ryan’s office confirmed Mr Ji has attended a small number of public campaign events and community forums, but said Dr Ryan has never met with him privately, never been lobbied by him on policy matters, and has no ­ongoing relationship with him.

“Monique cannot confirm whether Jessica attended the dinner, and, to her knowledge, she has not met her,” the spokesperson added.

“Any contact between Monique and Mr Ji has been incidental and limited to public events attended by large numbers of people, including the Hubei Chamber of Commerce dinner on April 21.”

There is no suggestion Dr Ryan sought or solicited Mr Ji’s endorsement.

Additional reporting: Newswire