The Australian Labor Party's Relationship with the CCP and Its Implications for Australian Security, By James Reed and Brian Simpson

 From a Christian conservative nationalist perspective, the Australian Labor Party's (ALP) cozy relationship with entities linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) raises alarm bells about Australia's sovereignty and its potential slide into CCP dominance. Reports of ALP leaders, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong, engaging with Beijing-backed groups and CCP-affiliated figures suggest a troubling pattern of influence that could compromise national security. This dynamic not only threatens Australia's independence but also positions it as a potential security liability for its key ally, the United States, particularly in the context of escalating U.S.-China tensions. Below, we outline the nature of this relationship and its dangerous trajectory.

The ALP's Sweetheart Relationship with CCP-Linked Entities

The ALP has actively courted individuals and organisations with ties to the CCP, particularly to secure Chinese-Australian votes and donations in the 2025 election. These engagements, far from innocent cultural exchanges, align with the CCP's United Front Work Department's strategy to extend influence abroad, as noted by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. Key examples include:

Albanese's Engagement with CBANSW: In March 2025, Albanese celebrated his birthday with the Chinese Building Association of NSW (CBANSW), a group with close ties to state-run Chinese construction firms. CBANSW's chief executive, Carson Gao, and president, Hao Liu, are linked to Chinese state-owned enterprises, with Gao promoting Australian property investments in China during the election campaign. The event, publicised on WeChat by a Beijing-based influencer with millions of followers, signals ALP's willingness to align with CCP-backed entities for electoral gain.

Wong's Meeting with Peter Zheng: In April 2025, Penny Wong dined with Peter Zhiwu Zheng, president of the Australia China Cultural and Economic Promotion Association, a United Front-linked group in Queensland. Zheng, a significant ALP donor ($13,000 since 2019), operates in Moreton, a seat with a large Chinese-Australian population. Wong's use of Chinese social media platform Rednote to attack Peter Dutton further indicates Labor's targeted outreach to Chinese communities via CCP-friendly channels.

Clare O'Neil's Campaign Volunteers: Reports surfaced that Clare O'Neil's campaign in Hotham recruited 10 members of a United Front-linked group to staff polling booths, prompting an investigation by a national taskforce including ASIO and the Australian Federal Police. This suggests a deeper infiltration of CCP-aligned operatives into Labor's electoral machinery.

These interactions are not isolated. Albanese's invitation to Gao for a 2024 lunch with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Labor's hosting of other United Front figures, like Harvard Shen, point to a pattern of engagement with CCP proxies. Clive Hamilton, author of Hidden Hand, asserts that groups like CBANSW likely take cues from Beijing, operating as extensions of CCP influence.

Labor's softening of Australia-China relations post-Morrison—evidenced by Albanese's meetings with Xi Jinping in 2022 and 2023 and his refusal to name China as a security threat in the 2025 leaders' debate—further illustrates a diplomatic deference that critics argue borders on appeasement. This contrasts sharply with Dutton's warnings about CCP threats, including cyberattacks and regional conflict risks.

Electoral Strategy and Chinese-Australian Votes

The ALP's outreach to Chinese-Australian communities, critical in at least 10 marginal seats (e.g., Bennelong, Reid, Moreton), has been strategic and effective. Labor leveraged WeChat campaigns and cultural events to secure 65–70% of the Chinese vote in key electorates, contributing to its 2025 landslide. However, this success comes at a cost. By aligning with CCP-linked donors and groups, Labor risks entangling itself with entities whose loyalty lies with Beijing, not Australia. The CCP's United Front seeks to manipulate diaspora communities, suppress dissent, and facilitate intelligence gathering, as per ASIO reports. Labor's reliance on these networks for votes and funds creates vulnerabilities that Beijing could exploit.

The Path to CCP Dominance

The ALP's deepening ties with CCP-linked entities pave the way for Australia's gradual subordination to Beijing's influence, threatening national sovereignty:

Economic Leverage: Chinese companies already lease three major Australian ports and dominate iron ore exports (85% of supply). Labor's reluctance to challenge these arrangements, coupled with its promotion of Chinese investment in property and infrastructure (e.g., via CBANSW), risks ceding critical economic assets to CCP control. Albanese's stabilisation of trade relations, while lifting $20 billion in Chinese tariffs, has increased Australia's economic dependence on China, giving Beijing leverage to dictate terms.

Political Infiltration: The presence of United Front operatives in Labor campaigns and the party's engagement with CCP-affiliated donors suggest a creeping political influence. Historical incidents, like the Sam Dastyari scandal and ASIO's 2024 warning of an MP "selling out" Australia, underscore the CCP's ability to infiltrate political systems. Labor's failure to distance itself from these networks risks normalising CCP interference in Australian politics.

Military and Strategic Vulnerabilities: The 2025 circumnavigation of Australia by Chinese warships, unaddressed by Albanese, signals Beijing's growing boldness. Labor's downplaying of CCP threats, contrasted with Dutton's focus on cybersecurity and regional stability, could weaken Australia's defense posture. The bipartisan pledge to strip China's Landbridge of the Port of Darwin lease has not yet materialised, leaving strategic assets exposed.

If unchecked, this trajectory could see Australia become a CCP satellite, with its economy, politics, and security increasingly aligned with Beijing's interests. From a Christian conservative nationalist viewpoint, this erodes Australia's God-given sovereignty and its ability to uphold Christian values like freedom and self-determination, replacing them with the CCP's atheist authoritarianism.

Australia's drift toward CCP influence poses a significant security issue for the United States, its primary ally under the AUKUS pact and Five Eyes intelligence alliance:

Weakened AUKUS and Regional Stability: AUKUS relies on Australia's strategic alignment with the U.S. to counter China in the Indo-Pacific. Labor's conciliatory stance toward Beijing, exemplified by Albanese's refusal to confront Chinese aggression, undermines this partnership. If Australia becomes a weak link, the U.S. may face increased pressure to counter China alone, especially in potential Taiwan or South China Sea conflicts.

Compromised Intelligence Sharing: The Five Eyes alliance depends on trust and security. CCP infiltration into Australian politics, as evidenced by United Front activities and ASIO's concerns, raises risks of intelligence leaks. A compromised Australia could jeopardize sensitive U.S. operations, particularly given China's documented interest in intelligence gathering via United Front networks.

Economic and Strategic Leverage: China's control over Australian ports and resources could disrupt U.S. supply chains, especially for critical minerals like iron ore, vital for defence industries. A CCP-dominated Australia might prioritise Beijing's interests, limiting U.S. access to Indo-Pacific bases and logistics hubs, thus weakening America's regional posture.

From a U.S. perspective, an Australia under CCP sway becomes a liability, forcing Washington to reassess its reliance on Canberra. This could strain ANZUS treaty commitments and embolden China's regional ambitions, threatening the free world's security architecture.

For Christian conservative nationalists, Labor's entanglement with the CCP is a betrayal of Australia's Judeo-Christian heritage and sovereign destiny. The CCP's ideology—atheist, collectivist, and repressive—clashes with Biblical principles of individual liberty, family, and faith. By prioritising electoral gains over national security, Labor risks handing Australia to a regime that persecutes Christians, suppresses dissent, and seeks global dominance. This is not merely a political failure but a spiritual one, inviting divine judgment on a nation that forsakes its calling.

The ALP must sever ties with CCP-linked entities, strengthen ASIO's mandate to root out foreign influence, and prioritize economic and military independence. Failure to do so will see Australia slide into Beijing's orbit, undermining its sovereignty and endangering its alliance with the U.S. The 2025 election, while a Labor triumph, exposed a dangerous undercurrent. Conservatives must rally to reclaim Australia's soul, ensuring it remains a bastion of faith and freedom, not a pawn of the CCP.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/election-2025-anthony-albanese-and-penny-wong-dine-out-with-friends-of-chinese-communist-party/news-story/ee24e5068cd8f4b962042a3d2d59f096

"Labor has courted Beijing-backed property developers and senior figures in the Chinese Communist Party's foreign-influence arm in a pre-election push to secure Australian Chinese donations and lock in the community's votes in key seats.

The Australian can reveal ­Anthony Albanese celebrated his birthday in March at an intimate lunch with the Chinese Building Association of NSW, which has close ties to state-run construction firms in China.

And Foreign Minister Penny Wong enjoyed yum cha in ­Brisbane last month with ALP donor Peter Zhiwu Zheng, the president of a Chinese cultural ­association linked to the CCP's United Front Work Department.ehind Anthony AlbanesendTanya Plibersek after... See more

The revelations come after The Australian revealed cabinet minister Clare O'Neil's campaign recruited 10 members of a Chinese United Front-linked group to staff polling booths in her seat of Hotham on polling day.

Australian Chinese votes will be critical in at least 10 seats in Saturday's election, including four each in Sydney and Melbourne, and one each in Brisbane and Perth.

The Prime Minister, who was lauded last year by Chinese state-run media as an example for other world leaders to follow, is banking on solid support from the community to get Labor across the line.

The Coalition has also worked hard to win over the ethnic group by cultivating ties with Chinese ­organisations, and has preselected a candidate with strong ties to ­Beijing for the unwinnable sixth spot on the LNP's Queensland ticket.

Members of the CBANSW sang happy birthday to Mr Albanese and presented him with a sparkler-topped cake at the function in early March, just weeks before the Prime Minister called the May 3 poll. Video of the event was circulated on WeChat by a Beijing-based influencer who shares Australian content with more than 3 million followers.

The CBANSW's China-born chief executive, Carson Gao, who is seated to Mr Albanese's right in the video, was in China this week spruiking investment opportunities in Australia's resurgent property sector. Mr Gao led the association's delegation during meetings with the China Real ­Estate Association, major developers and supply chain firms.

The association's president and founder Hao Liu is managing ­director of the Chinese-owned construction company Starryland Australia, whose parent company is the state-owned Hubei Fuxing Science and Technology Co. ­Another of the association's board members, property developer Harvard Shen, is on the committee of the United Front body Australian Chushang Entrepreneurs Association.

Senator Wong and Labor's candidate for the Brisbane seat of Moreton, Julie-Ann Campbell, dined with Mr Zheng at the Landmark Restaurant, in suburban Sunnybank, on April 7.

Moreton is home to the largest concentration of people with Chinese ancestry in Brisbane, according to census data, and is one of the many outer-suburban seats Peter Dutton has targeted.

Mr Zheng, who has donated $13,000 to Queensland Labor and $1090 to the LNP since 2019, according to AEC records, is president of the Australia China Cultural and Economic Promotion Association – a key United Front group in Queensland.

According to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute: "The overseas functions of United Front include increasing the CCP's ­political interference, interfering in Chinese (expat communities), suppressing dissident movements, building a permissive inter­national environment for a takeover of Taiwan, intelligence gathering, encouraging investment in China, and facilitating technology transfer."

The CBANSW lunch for Mr Albanese followed a prime ministerial invitation to Mr Gao last year to attend a lunch in Parliament House's Great Hall with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

Mr Gao also hosted Skills and Training Minister Andrew Giles and Labor's member for Bennelong, Jerome Laxale, in January to discuss the sector's challenges and opportunities, and invited ­opposition housing spokesman ­Michael Sukkar to address its 2024 gala dinner. Bennelong and Mr Sukkar's Deakin also have large Chinese communities.

Clive Hamilton, who ­exposed the Chinese Communist Party's global program of influence and subversion in his book Hidden Hand, said the CBANSW almost certainly took its cues from the CCP. "It's fair to assume that any Chinese business association is one that Beijing will have an ­interest in – it's just how they work," Professor Hamilton said.

Labor campaign headquarters declined to comment on Mr Albanese's dealings with the association and Senator Wong's meeting with Mr Zheng. Mr Gao also passed up the opportunity to comment, saying he was feeling ill after returning from his China trip.

Labor took the heat out of the Australia-China relationship after it deteriorated under the Morrison government, with Beijing slapping trade bans on $20bn worth of ­Australian exports. Mr Albanese worked hard to stabilise bilateral ties, meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 in Bali six months after he was elected, and travelling to China for an official visit 12 months later. The Prime Minister has been at pains to avoid offending Beijing, declining to nominate China in last Sunday's leaders debate as the nation's biggest security threat ­despite the recent circumnavigation of the continent by three Chinese warships, and a bipartisan pledge to strip Chinese company Landbridge of its lease over the Port of Darwin. "I am the Prime Minister of a country and how you deal as Prime Minister is diplomatically," he said.

The Opposition Leader , who has softened his hawkish rhetoric on China in recent times, was less restrained. "The biggest concern from our intelligence agencies and defence agency is in relation to the Communist Party of China, and they're worried about conflict in our region," Mr Dutton said.

"They're worried about what that would do to … our trade, what it would do for our security settings, what we would need to do to respond to say a cyber attack on our country."

The election watchdog has revealed it will refer allegations that the Hubei Association planned to send dozens of volunteers to support Ms O'Neil and Greens candidates to a national taskforce for investigation. The taskforce, which includes ASIO and Australian Federal Police officials, is investigating the association's involvement in teal MP Monique Ryan's campaign in Kooyong.

The LNP has also faced scrutiny over its preselection of ethnic Chinese property developer Peter Zhuang on its Queensland Senate ticket. Mr Zhuang maintains extensive business interests in China and his biography says he is the treasurer of the Australia-China Friendship Society of Queensland.

Kooyong is a fifth Melbourne seat where the Chinese vote will play a part but the Victorian redistribution has moved a sizeable proportion of the community across the border into Menzies.

The marginal Labor-held seat of Reid in Sydney's inner west is at the heart of the city's large Chinese community, with more than 50 per cent of people in Burwood having Chinese ancestry.

Labor's Sally Sitou, who has Chinese Laotian parents, won Reid in 2022, and holds the seat with a margin of 5.2 per cent after the NSW electoral redistribution.

Other Sydney battleground seats where the Chinese vote will be crucial include: Bradfield, where teal candidate Nicolette Boele is hoping to topple the Liberals at the second attempt; Bennelong, which Labor MP Jerome Laxale hopes to retain after seeing the boundary changes render the seat notionally Liberal by just 0.04 per cent; and Labor MP Andrew Charlton's Parramatta, which has had a sizeable increase in its Chinese community after large parts of Epping and Eastwood were shifted out of Bennelong.