Chinese Australians Targeted in Dutton’s Desperate Dirty Election Playbook

Peter Dutton is determined it seems to turn Australia into another United States. And just as there’s hatred for anything and everything Russian, the federal leader of the Opposition is trying to manifest that same hatred in Australia with anything Chinese.

In a move strikingly reminiscent of the 2016 US presidential election — where allegations of Russian interference dominated headlines and political debate — Australia’s Coalition is now steering the federal campaign narrative toward unsubstantiated claims of Chinese meddling. The target? Labor Minister Clare O’Neil, Greens candidates, and high-profile independents such as Monique Ryan.

Central to the controversy is the Hubei Association, a Chinese Australian community group accused of providing campaign volunteers with alleged ties to Beijing’s United Front network. The Australian Electoral Commission has referred the matter to the Electoral Integrity Assurance Taskforce, an inter-agency body including the AFP, ASIO, and the AEC itself.

But as the headlines swell and speculation runs rampant, it’s increasingly clear this so-called scandal bears all the hallmarks of a political beat-up — one weaponised by Dutton and the Coalition in a bid to stoke fear, sow division, and claw back relevance amid sagging poll numbers. And even though Trump was a victim of it, he now foments it and Dutton is looking to adopt Trumpian style politics in Australia. No thank you Skull Murphy!

This episode, like its American counterpart nearly a decade ago, plays on the darkest anxieties of foreign influence. But while the US accused Russia of social media manipulation and hacking, here we have Chinese Australians volunteering at polling booths — framed as a national security threat.

There’s no evidence these volunteers engaged in wrongdoing. No money changed hands. No covert donations. No infiltration of government systems. What there is is community participation being cast under a shadow of suspicion, because of ethnicity and tenuous associations.

Labor Minister Clare O’Neil’s office declined the Hubei volunteers when they were offered — a decision made before media reports broke. Greens candidates accepted limited help in distributing flyers, consistent with standard community engagement. Even independent MP Monique Ryan has welcomed the investigation, saying she was unaware of any concerns until alerted by the media. The notion these events constitute interference — let alone foreign-directed subversion — is not just flimsy, it’s irresponsible.

It’ textbook desperation politics.

Much like how Trump deflected attention from his own controversies by amplifying Russian interference hysteria, Dutton’s Coalition is now banking on Sinophobia to derail a campaign it knows it’s struggling in. With Labor holding a consistent lead in polls and independents like Ryan commanding community support, fear becomes the fallback strategy.

The political narrative is being engineered to insinuate: “If Chinese people support you, it must be foreign interference.” Dutton is a redneck who consistently and continuously displays all the hallmarks of a racist.

This is dangerous territory. It stirs up xenophobia, erodes public trust in multicultural engagement, and actively discourages civic participation among Chinese Australians — many of whom are long-time citizens and active members of the community. Hubei Association president Ji Jianmin, a 29-year resident and citizen since 2022, expressed precisely this concern. “We are Australian citizens,” he said. “We uphold Australian values… If fulfilling our obligations as Australian citizens leads to malicious distortion, then what justice is left?”

What indeed.

Labor has swiftly distanced itself from the arrangement, while Coalition operatives have leaned into the hysteria, feeding a narrative through friendly media outlets like The Australian and Sky News. The timing of this manufactured scandal — on the eve of election day — is no coincidence. It’s political theatre aimed at smearing opponents, not a legitimate concern for national security.

If foreign interference were genuinely feared, why wait until now to act? Why not propose broader safeguards or transparency reforms earlier in the parliamentary term? The answer is simple: it’s not about integrity, it’s about headlines. It’s about reviving a tired culture war — one that pits “us” against “them,” and conveniently paints Labor, the Greens, and independents as somehow compromised.

The comparison with 2016 doesn't end at tactics. It mirrors a structural trend in Western democracies: when conservative forces lose public trust, they reach for the foreign bogeyman. In America, it was Russia. In Australia, it’s China. And in both cases, there’s a deeply racialised subtext.

Let’s not forget Chinese Australians were among the hardest hit during the COVID pandemic, not only economically but socially — facing targeted racism, suspicion, and exclusion. The resurrection of “foreign agent” tropes now threatens to undo years of healing and inclusion.

Vigilance against genuine foreign interference is necessary. But this isn’t it. There are no leaked documents, no breaches of cybersecurity, no unauthorised donations. It’s a community group assisting political campaigns in plain sight — an act that should be seen as participation, not infiltration.

The taskforce may investigate, as is its duty. But the media and political class must ask themselves: are they protecting democracy, or poisoning it with suspicion?

Peter Dutton and the Coalition should be ashamed. By weaponising fear of China — without proof, without proportionality — they are playing a game as old as politics itself. One that trades in division, distracts from policy, and ultimately does nothing to strengthen democratic integrity.

The real interference isn’t foreign. It’s domestic — and it’s coming from those who would rather incite a culture war than win on ideas.