Alexander steers clear of PM’s China rhetoric

John Alexander is working hard to hold the support of the 17,000-strong Chinese community in Bennelong.

Kristina Keneally campaigns in Bennelong yesterday.

Liberal candidate John Alexander is steering clear of Malcolm Turnbull’s tough rhetoric on political interference by Beijing as he strives to hold the support of local Chinese voters in the final week of campaigning for the Bennelong by-election.

With an estimated 17,000-strong Chinese community in the Sydney northwest electorate, the Liberal candidate yesterday praised the Prime Minister’s words but stuck to local issues such as roads, schools and small business and did not elaborate on claims of foreign interference in domestic politics.

The Bennelong by-election, called when Mr Alexander was forced to resign after admitting to dual British citizenship, is an important test for the Turnbull government, which could lose its majority in parliament.

While the government would most likely survive by relying on crossbench support, the result could be critical for Mr Turnbull’s hold on the prime ministership after a difficult year.

A ReachTel poll last month said the Liberals were ahead 53-47 per cent on a two-party- preferred vote, favouring Mr Alexander to regain the seat despite a significant dent in his 9.7 per cent winning margin from last year’s election.

Labor is pinning its hopes on former NSW premier Kristina Keneally as a star candidate who can outgun Mr Alexander with her higher media profile and a slick campaign.

But Ms Keneally, who campaigned in Bennelong at the weekend with former Labor premier Bob Carr, has come under relentless attacks from the Liberals for having led a scandal-ridden state government that was punished with a landslide defeat six years ago.

Ms Keneally tweeted a photo of herself and Mr Carr at the weekend with the caption: “Never a dull moment with @bobjcarr.”

The campaign presence of Mr Carr, who heads a Chinese studies institute with funding from controversial Beijing-backed businessman and ALP donor Huang Xiangmo, suggests Labor still sees value in highlighting the party’s China connections.

But NSW Labor senator Sam Dastyari, who played a prominent role in the early part of the campaign, has dropped out of sight, a sign Labor is very sensitive about controversy over his ties to Beijing as the Coalition continues to target them.

Labor leader Bill Shorten will make several more visits to Bennelong this week, and both the party and unions are expected to pour enormous resources into the seat in a last-ditch effort to score a by-election upset.

Mr Alexander stayed local yesterday, telling The Australian he had built strong links with the large Chinese community over the past seven years, and enjoyed good relations with local Kor­ean, Armenian and Italian voters.

While reluctant to directly attack Ms Keneally, he said her government had allowed mass residential development in the Ryde-Eastwood area but failed to tackle congestion by cancelling the North West metro.

Mr Alexander said he expected the result would be close, possibly coming down to 50 or 100 votes. Bennelong has a large conservative base. A majority voted No in the recent same-sex marriage survey.

Labor has complained to the Australian Electoral Commission over Liberal tactics after fake “scratchies” tickets were issued saying “Voting for Labor is a gamble”. Liberals are considering a complaint about union resources, claiming help for Labor might not have been properly declared as campaign donations.