Liberal candidate Scott Yung faces scrutiny on possible guideline breach

Bennelong candidate Scott Yung was absent from campaign events on Friday after acknowledging he used undeclared campaign advertising in 2019.

Peter Dutton at Carlingford in western Sydney on Friday. Picture: Thomas Lisson / NewsWire

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Liberal Bennelong candidate Scott Yung has been noticeably absent from campaign events as his party examines his potential historic breach of NSW Electoral Commission guidelines.

The Australian can also reveal Mr Yung enjoyed a close relationship with Peter Dutton, who he advised on the party’s election strategy to secure Chinese voters nationwide. Any friendship between the pair was elusive on Friday, with Mr Yung absent from the Opposition Leader’s western Sydney campaign trail after confirming he used free, undisclosed social media campaign advertising in 2019.

In response to questions by The Australian on Thursday, Mr Yung said the work of PR firm Covert on his 2019 state election campaign – during which it produced Chinese-language advert­orials for his contest for the electorate of Kogarah – did not breach electoral law, despite him not declaring it on mandatory ­disclosure logs, because it was volunteered.

However, guidelines for the NSW Electoral Funding Act say candidates are still obligated to report the work of “a person whose labour consists of providing products or services that the person supplies as a function of his/her profession”, given it is considered a donation rather than volunteer labour. The Australian understands senior party leadership has made inquiries about Mr Yung’s 2019 campaign.

The NSWEC said it was “aware of media reports” about Mr Yung’s campaign but was not permitted to comment “on specific compliance matters or confirm ­whether or not it is investigating a matter”.

“Generally speaking … receiving indirect campaign contributions is not prohibited where the value of the contribution – such as the waiver of a fee for advertising – is below certain monetary thresholds. In the 2018-19 financial year, those thresholds were $6300 for the benefit of a party or $2800 for the benefit of a candidate. These thresholds were the same as the donation caps at that time,” an NSWEC spokesman said. “An (indirect campaign contribution) will also not be prohibited where it consists of ‘the provision of volunteer labour’ … a person will not be a volunteer, however, if they ordinarily charge for the services they provided for free to a campaign.”

Scott Yung in 2019. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Mr Yung’s admission of the service places the NSW Liberal Party’s 24 senior office holders at risk of a criminal breach should they fail to report any suspected wrongdoing.

Mr Dutton spent Friday campaigning in western Sydney, ­appearing in the morning at a petrol station on the Parramatta-Bennelong electoral border. Mr Yung was not present, despite Mr Dutton sharing a podium flanked by other local candidates.

Mr Yung is understood to have had clashing commitments.

It comes after he helped engineer the party’s efforts to secure Chinese background voters, including through social media, as evidenced by Mr Yung’s Bennelong preselection application — acquired by The Australian. It describes how Mr Yung, the founder of the Liberal Party Chinese Youth Council, provided Mr Dutton with advice on how to use ­Chinese social media platforms including WeChat – the same platform on which his undisclosed 2019 campaign advertising was ­released.

­“I was asked by the (opposition) leader and his office to ­assist with Chinese community engagement,” the application reads. “Since then, I have:

­“Provided strategic advice for the next 12 months leading to the next election.­

“Arranged a forum of 19 community leaders, many in Bennelong, with the (opposition) leader.

“Executing (sic) on key materials for Chinese social media on WeChat.”