Jane Hume said her comments are genuine concerns about foreign interference in Australia’s federal elections.
Liberal Sen. Jane Hume defended her “Chinese spy” comments in preparation for Election Day on May 3, criticising Labour for weaponizing it.
A week before Election Day, Hume made the headline when he claimed that “Chinese spies” were handing out flyers for Labor Housing Minister Claire O’Neill.
The incident was featured in the Australian Election Commission.
Just a few days before Election Day, Wong ran a campaign on China-based social media apps such as WeChat and Rednote, informing Chinese voters that the Liberal Party doubted its loyalty to Australia.
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It is unclear how effective the workers’ campaign is, but the party benefited beyond the Chinese population’s high seat.
On March 18, 2021, Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume was at the door stop at the media gallery at the Capitol Building in Canberra, Australia. Sam Mooy/Getty Images
Hume criticizes Labour for weaponizing her comments.
In an interview with Sky News Australia, Hume said her previous statements were not expressly expressive, but are considered to be true concerns about external interference in the election.
“Let’s make it clear what the issue is there. There was a suspicion by the Australian Election Integrity Task Force of Foreign Interference in our electoral system,” she said.
“It wasn’t something they could dismiss so easily, instead (labor) turned it into a campaign of fear against the Liberal Party. I’m going to get in the way a little bit,” she said.
“The last thing we want is that election outcomes will be influenced by non-Australians, organizations, wherever they are, by national actors abroad.
This wasn’t the first time a political leader raised an eyebrow with confused rhetoric about the Chinese community.
In 2019, then-Leader of the State Labour Party opposition, Michael Daly said that “a typical Asian youth with a PhD” had taken on young Australian jobs, sparking a strong response from fellow lawmakers from Asian backgrounds.
On May 3, 2025, we will vote in the voting box at Kew Elementary School in Melbourne, Australia. Morgan Hancock/Getty Images
The Liberal Party did not counter the workers’ campaign
At the same time, Senator Hume said it wasn’t enough to counter the horrifying campaign of workers, reflecting the losses of the Liberal Party’s election.
“We know there were a lot of scary campaigns out there, and some of the things we simply didn’t counter enough,” she said.
The senator said voters told her they wouldn’t vote for the Liberals as they were hit by information that liberals would cut penalty rates.
“There were underground campaigns throughout this whole campaign, but we couldn’t compete because they weren’t coming.
“So that would be one of the major reflections on policy development.”
