Labor staffer scored $35,000 in grants for community group

The office of former federal Labor MP Chris Hayes was awarded almost $40,000 to an organisation founded by his former staffer Tu Le.

Former Fowler MP Chris Hayes.

The office of former federal Labor MP Chris Hayes awarded almost $40,000 to an organisation founded by his former staffer Tu Le, including near $35,000 when she was working for him, without an independent assessment panel being told of her employment.

The stronger communities grant programs provided each of the nation’s 151 federal electorates with $150,000 to fund small capital projects aimed at improving local community participation. Each project could be awarded up to $20,000 at the discretion of the local federal MP.

Ms Le co-founded The Youth Co-Lab in January 2018, a charitable initiative aimed at assisting migrants to “integrate into Australian economic, social and civil life” through the “celebration of cultural diversity within the community through food”, according to grant applications.

According to Ms Le’s LinkedIn profile, she was a member of Mr Hayes’ staff from January 2018 to September 2019, first employed as a casual staffer at his Cabramatta electoral office in the southwest Sydney seat of Fowler before being promoted to campaign manager.

Federal grant documents show under the fourth round of funding, Youth Co-Lab was awarded $20,000 on January 30, 2019, with a further $14,463 awarded to an offshoot of the organisation, Kitchen Co-Lab, to purchase kitchen utensils and audio visual gear. YCL received a third grant of $4850 in the 2020-21 financial year, bringing the total received $39,313.

After announcing he would ­retire at the 2022 federal election, Mr Hayes championed Ms Le, a local Vietnamese-Australian lawyer, as his successor for the seat. But Labor powerbrokers ultimately decided to install then opposition frontbencher Kristina Keneally instead.

Ms Le has announced her intention to run for the state seat of Cabramatta at the state election in March, but has faced resistance from local Labor members.

But sources close to Mr Hayes’ grant selection panel said the fact that Ms Le worked as a staffer for Hayes was not raised with independent panel members. It is unclear whether the guidelines required this in the form of a conflict of interest declaration but a source said it was a matter that should have been raised with the panel – hotelier, the late Harry Hunt, former politician Ken Chapman and Cabramatta High School principal Beth Goodwin – during the selection meeting.

To be eligible for the grants, the project “must be located in your MP’s electorate”. The organisation is registered in the neighbouring electorate of Blaxland, held by Labor MP Jason Clare.

When contacted by The Weekend Australian, Mr Hayes said he was not on the independent committee nor did he have any role in the provision of grants, saying he remained strictly at “arm’s length” throughout the process.

Mr Chapman said Mr Hayes had been present at the meetings but insisted he did not interfere in the panel’s deliberations outside of “preparing afternoon tea”.

Ms Le was unsure if she had signed a conflict of interest declaration in relation to her position in Mr Hayes’ office, but said it was “very clear” to panel members she was working for the MP.