Solicitor, mango farmer Thong Sum Lee runs as Citizens Party Lingiari candidate

A former lawyer who was slapped with a $10,000 professional misconduct fine is running for the seat of Lingiari.

YOU won’t see their face on the side of a highway or their ads streaming online, but these lesser known faces of NT politics are taking a crack at being your representative in Canberra.

Here’s the first in our series of profiles on the Territory’s ‘ghost candidates’ for the 2022 federal election.

Citizens Party candidate Thong Sum Lee

A FORMER lawyer who was slapped with a $10,000 professional misconduct fine is running for the seat of Lingiari on a platform of removing all American military bases from the Territory.

Citizens Party candidate Thong Sum Lee said after 36 years in Territory as a solicitor turned Berry Springs mango farmer he was ready for the halls of Canberra.

The Citizens Party, formally the Citizens Electoral Council, has run in Australian elections for decades with little success.

The fringe party’s platform revolves around turning Australia Post into a national bank, defending China, calling for Australia to drop “hawkish” ties with America and the UK, and a number of conspiracy theories about the Queen.

In January, it called for the Governor-general to be listed on the ‘foreign influence’ register, saying the role made “a mockery of Australia’s so-called sovereignty”.

On the party website, Mr Lee outlined his policy as anti-privatisation, anti-fracking, and voiced his support for increased investment in education, housing, aged care, mental health, and regional road infrastructure.

The 73-year-old rejected the “multinational military complex”, condemning Australia’s current criticisms of China’s operations.

“China has bought most of our resources and is our main trading partner. We should not start drumming wars with China,” he said.

This is not Mr Lee’s first swing for politics. In 2016 he ran as an independent in the seat of Daly, winning just 90 votes.

Citizens Party candidate Thong Sum Lee is running for the NT seat of Lingiari in the 2022 Federal election.

Mr Lee said his prospects for winning the hotly contested seat were poor.

“I have nothing to lose except getting more stress and anxiety including some financial losses in this federal election,” he said.

“(But) no decision has been made in regards to directing preference votes. I will be suggesting to put the CLP and Labor in last placings.”

While campaigning on his legal credentials, Mr Lee does not have an impeccable career before the courts.

Mr Lee had several run-ins for breaches of discipline including a $10,000 fine for professional misconduct.

The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal heard Mr Lee was found guilty of unprofessional conduct after making offensive remarks about his own client in a family law matter in 1999.

It heard that a year later he admitted to overcharging his clients, and in 2001 his right to practice was suspended for four months after he failed to take a professional retraining course.

In 2009 and 2011 Mr Lee was brought before the Agents Licensing Board and Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal over misconduct in the sale of a rural Darwin property.

The oversight boards heard that Mr Lee falsely claimed to be a licenced real estate agent.

While acting as a solicitor representing Litchfield Realty, Mr Lee attempted to claim a 30 per cent bump in his agreed commission on the sale of a Howard Springs property.

Without consulting with his clients, Mr Lee wrote up a contract giving him a $4537 total commission on top of his $880 in legal fees.

“It is clear that the practitioner manipulated the settlement to confer on himself a financial benefit,” the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal wrote.

“No dishonesty was involved, but no competent and diligent practitioner would allow his interests to conflict with those of his client.”

In the lead up to the 2022 election, Mr Lee has defended his legal career, stating “which lawyer has not been under the pump?” and claimed to be the victim of bullying and harassment.

“My conscience is clear,” he said.

“Any racism and discrimination including institutional and systemic racism is abhorrent, particularly when I am one of the victims.”

In 2015 Mr Lee had his own name removed from the roll of legal practitioners, pleading for the court to “let me move on, in the twilight of my life”.

Justice Peter Barr approved his request, but added there was no real need for the formal application which is typically used to force people off the roll on the grounds of misconduct or mentally and physically unfitness.

“Given that the applicant does not intend to return to the practice of the law or to take advantage in any other way of his standing as an admitted practitioner, it could be argued that there was no need for the exercise of the court’s jurisdiction,” he said.

Originally published as Solicitor, mango farmer Thong Sum Lee runs as Citizens Party Lingiari candidate