Kristina Keneally backer linked to Liberals

NSW Labor powerbrokers are accusing Kristina Keneally’s local sponsor for the western Sydney seat of Fowler of being linked to the Liberal Party.

NSW Labor powerbrokers are ­accusing Kristina Keneally’s local sponsor for the western Sydney seat of Fowler of being linked to the Liberal Party, as the state’s ­second-biggest union splits from the faction over moves to install the senator in the House of ­Representatives.

The accusations have sent the NSW Labor Party into a civil war amid counter-claims that Senator Keneally’s sponsor, Vietnamese woman Kate Hoang, is a Labor member and she is being ­intimidated for supporting her.

Senator Keneally was formally endorsed by the NSW Labor Right on Friday night without a vote in a heated faction meeting.

She has pledged to “step up and fight” for the electorate every day, saying she was approached by ­locals to contest the seat.

During the teleconference Chris Hayes – the outgoing incumbent Fowler MP and federal Labor’s outgoing chief whip – voiced his displeasure at Senator Keneally’s installation as his successor and questioned her claims of strong local support.

The Australian understands Senator Keneally was endorsed at the meeting by Ms Hoang, the federal president of the Vietnamese Community in Australia.

Mr Hayes said Ms Hoang had handed out how-to-vote cards for the Liberal Party at the last federal election, and declared he did not know why she was in the meeting.

“I advised the meeting that I was concerned that the very first speech endorsing Kristina Keneally was from this woman,” he said. “I’m aware that Kate Hoang had a photo on her Facebook of her handing out how-to-vote cards for David Coleman and the Liberal Party at the last election.

“I understand that the photo has been taken down. I’m reliably informed that many in the community have taken screen shots (and made copies) of the photo.”

NSW Right powerbrokers on Friday night were also distributing photos that appear to show Ms Hoang handing out the Liberal how-to-vote cards.

Kate Hoang campaigning for Liberal MP David Coleman before the 2019 election.

However, sources supporting Senator Keneally said Ms Hoang had been a member of the Labor Party for three years. One source said Ms Hoang had handed out cards for Mr Coleman only ­because the VCA was bipartisan and supported candidates that supported them.

“This is despicable bullying of a young woman who is an active member of the Labor Party. All she did was speak her mind at a Labor Party meeting which she is perfectly entitled to do,” one Labor source supportive of Senator Keneally said.

A Labor Party spokesman on Friday night said Ms Hoang was a member of the party.

“Kate Hoang is a member of the Cabramatta Branch of the Australian Labor Party, and a member of the Centre Unity faction,” he said . “She is entitled to ­attend the meeting and speak.”

Meanwhile, Health Services Union NSW secretary Gerard Hayes – the brother of Chris Hayes – said his union would leave the NSW Right, and he could not understand why the party wanted Senator Keneally for the seat over an ethnically ­diverse and local candidate such as his brother’s preferred successor, lawyer Tu Le.

Gerard Hayes said, while it was unlikely the factional deal to put Senator Keneally in Fowler could be overturned, he would not stand by while local candidates were overlooked. “This just seems to be business as usual,” he said. “We have talented local people and then Big Brother comes in and tells them what to do.

“We will stand on our own principles and make our own decisions now … we will be standing very firm that we want local communities to be engaged and pick local candidates.”

One Labor Right source said Senator Keneally’s speech was “completely vacuous – full of motherhood statements about ­diversity and multiculturalism”.

Tu Le was endorsed by sitting member Chris Hayes. Picture: Ryan Osland

The decision to put the former NSW premier and opposition home affairs spokeswoman in Fowler has solved an even bigger fight between her and Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association-backed Senator Deborah O’Neill for the party’s No. 1 spot on its NSW Senate ticket.  If Senator Keneally had lost that fight and been pushed to the third spot – behind locked No. 2 spot holder, Left senator Jenny McAllister – she would have likely lost her place in parliament.

Senator Keneally, a close ally of federal Opposition Leader ­Anthony Albanese, said on Friday that she was making the move due to the strong local support she had seen, and defended her links to the community going back to her time in the state government.

“I want to step up and fight for Fowler in the House of Representatives, for every suburb, every faith community, every small business, every family,” she said.

Mr Albanese defended Senator Keneally and the diversity of his team, and pointed to Labor Senate leader Penny Wong, ALP frontbencher Ed Husic and West Australian MP Anne Aly as examples of racial diversity.

“We have enormous diversity in our ranks,” he said. “And guess what? At the next election there’s someone called Albanese running for prime minister.”