Some Liberal MPs boycotted the social media app WeChat, others called it a security threat. Now even Dutton is using it to reach out to Chinese voters.
The party’s full court press to woo the constituency includes recruiting candidates and staffers of Chinese heritage, along with a plan to push more MPs to open accounts on the ubiquitous platform despite accusations it is a Communist Party tool.
“We pissed off a lot of the Chinese community in 2022 and Dutton instinctively knows we can and must improve on last time,” a top Liberal source said. The Morrison government, in which Dutton was home affairs minister, muscled up to China during COVID over the origins of the virus and foreign interference. But the party’s tough rhetoric contributed to the voter group swinging sharply away from the Coalition, contributing to losses in four seats, and forcing Wolahan and Sukkar into ultra-marginal fights.
Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson, who led a Senate inquiry examining foreign interference through social media, said last year WeChat was “an essential tool for communication”.
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