WA LABOR PARTY —
CHINA LINKS
1549. Hon CHARLES SMITH to the Leader of the House
representing the Premier:
I
refer to a 12 September WAtoday article entitled ''Questions emerge over
WA Labor's China links'', outlining the details of a 2015
event attended by the now Premier. According to the article, the event in
question was to mark the establishment of
the Western Australian branch of the now defunct Australian Chinese Labor Party
Association, an organisation linked to the Chinese government's
United Front Work Department.
(1) Can the state
government confirm whether the Premier or cabinet ministers continue to
cultivate relationships with organisations
and individuals known to be linked to the United Front Work Department?
(2) What is the
state government's public position on the united front's foreign
influence activities in Western Australia?
Hon SUE ELLERY replied:
The Western Australian organisation
referred to in the honourable member's question was not ever—not
ever—linked to the Chinese government's United Front Work
Department, and therefore I reject the premise of the honourable member's
question.