Fear and loathing in the NSW Liberals

A preselection candidate has gone to the Federal Court with his claim he was rejected by the NSW branch for the last state election because of his race.

Max Mason and Myriam Robin

Aug 7, 2024 – 5.00am

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4 min

Hell hath no fury like a Liberal preselection candidate scorned.

Andy Yin, a high-profile Chinese Australian and long-time Liberal Party supporter and donor, reckons he was rejected by the NSW branch to run in the last state election because of his race. And he’s taken that claim to the Federal Court.

Andy Yin interviews former Liberal candidate for Warringah Katherine Deves for Andy One-on-One.

He isn’t messing around, listing a host of NSW Liberal bigwigs as respondents in his suit, including Washington-bound former NSW premier Dominic Perrottet and former multiculturalism minister Mark Coure.

In a complaint lodged to the Australian Human Rights Commission for mediation last year, Yin said he had been told by people close to the then five respondents that his attempt to run for the seat of Strathfield in Sydney’s inner-west had been rejected over fears he was a Chinese spy.

Yin also claimed he had heard through his sources that his Chinese heritage was considered of no particular advantage in the Strathfield electorate, which is held by another Chinese Australian, Labor’s Jason Yat-sen Li.

Yin’s complaint detailed how, in February 2023, he was interviewed by the NSW Liberal Party’s selection committee, a standard process in which potential candidates are vetted for past controversies, business dealings, bankruptcies and any criminal history.

This was followed up with questions about his directorships, shareholdings, how he got money to buy property at age 19, bank records detailing family cash transfers, and his involvement in different Chinese Australian political and business groups.

Instead, the Liberal Party opted to endorse John-Paul Baladi to run in Strathfield. He lost the marginal seat to Yi, who incidentally has endured extensive targeted racism during a number of election campaigns, including baseless speculation that he’s a Chinese Communist Party sympathiser.