Cassy O’Connor MP | Greens Leader
The Tasmanian Liberals’ unethical decision to accept at least $30 000 from the Yuhu Group of companies, despite a warning from ASIO, has come back to bite them, with Yuhu’s founder refused re-entry to Australia because of his ties to Beijing.
After an extensive investigation of Mr Huang Xiangmo’s lobbying and propaganda work on behalf of the Chinese Government, Australian officials have declared him unfit to hold an Australian passport and cancelled his permanent residency.
This is the same billionaire businessman the Tasmanian Liberals accepted money from in 2016. That money was packaged up as a gift from Beijing, via its proxy in Australia, Mr Xiangmo, and given to a political party which is bending over backwards to please the Chinese Government.
The Premier needs to show leadership and demand the money from Beijing be returned to the Yuhu Group of companies.
He cannot, in all good conscience, now claim that money came with no strings attached.
The Premier also needs to be honest with Tasmanians about whether or not his party has taken more than the $30 000 we already know about and whether foreign donations were hidden in the $3 million of undisclosed donations to the Tasmanian Liberals in the latest AEC returns.
Having accepted this money despite ASIO’s warning to both the major parties in 2015, will the Premier now commit to returning it and rule out having received any more cash from Chinese Government agents since the 2016 donations?
Tasmanians have a right to know whether the Liberals have been bought by Beijing.