NSW election: ads war as media pitches battle for Chinese vote

NSW Labor and the Liberals are in a battle for advertising space on the covers of Chinese newspapers.

NSW Labor leader Michael Daley features prominently in front-page ads on several Chinese-Australian newspapers on Wednesday. Picture: AAP

The NSW opposition is scrambling to repair its image in the Chinese community after Michael Daley’s controversial comments about “Asians with PhDs taking jobs”, with Labor and the Liberals in a battle for advertising space on the covers of Chinese newspapers.

The front pages of the Australian Chinese Daily and Sing Tao Daily yesterday featured black and white images of NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian alongside Tony Abbott, Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton, with Labor attacking the government for “cuts to health and education” while “splashing $2.2 billion” on Sydney stadiums.

It was the second day in a row the Labor Party took out front-page ads in Chinese community media, with newspapers on Wednesday featuring a photo of Mr Daley with his wife and two children above those of 10 Labor MPs whose seats take in sizeable ­Chinese communities.

The Liberal Party also campaigned in yesterday’s Australian Chinese Daily, taking out a half-page advertisement on the back cover with a photo of Ms Berejik­lian and a translation of her “Let’s get it done NSW” material.

Yesterday’s edition of the Australian Chinese Daily also featured an interview with opposition roads and transport spokes­woman Jodi McKay, who sought to combat voter dissatisfaction in her seat of Strathfield, where 21.9 per cent of residents claim Chinese ancestry.

Ms McKay told the paper she had maintained close ties with the Chinese community in her electorate and she had Chinese advisers among her staff.

She also said many Chinese residents told her they voted Labor because of the party’s relationship with China that dated back to Gough Whitlam’s government establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing.

She also brought up Bob Hawke’s decision to allow Chinese international students to remain in Australia following the Tiananmen Square massacre.

Ms McKay told the paper she was confident of the support of Chinese voters in tomorrow’s election.

She is not the only Labor MP who has taken to Chinese language media in the aftermath of Mr Daley’s comments. Kogarah MP Chris Minns flagged his commitment to the Chinese community on social media site WeChat.

Mr Daley apologised after comments he made in Wentworth Falls in September surfaced in a video on Tuesday, where he told a forum that young people were leaving Sydney and that “Asians with PhDs” were replacing them and taking their jobs.

Former Race Discrimination Commissioner and Labor Party staffer Tim Soutphommasane said he was disappointed by Mr Daley’s comments.

Additional reporting: Heidi Han