Ernest Kwok Chung Wong is a Hong Kong-born Australian politician who was an Australian Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 2013 to 2019.
20 Facts About Ernest Wong
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Ernest Wong was born in Hong Kong and studied at Wah Yan College, Kowloon, a prestigious Roman Catholic secondary school for boys.
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Ernest Wong is married with two children and is fluent in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.
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Ernest Wong has a long history of engagement with the community, in particular, vulnerable groups.
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Ernest Wong established the Special Children Service Centre in 2008 to assist children of diverse cultural backgrounds with intellectual impairment and has been appointed Life Honorary President of the charitable organisation.
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Ernest Wong served on the Burwood Council, including terms as Mayor and Deputy Mayor, elected on Unity Party tickets from 2000.
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At the 2003 NSW state election, Ernest Wong headed a multicultural upper house ticket for the Unity Party.
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Ernest Wong was an upper house candidate for Labor in the 2011 NSW state election, placed eighth on the party ticket; and has served as the citizenship advisor to the Premier of New South Wales and as a community relations advisor to Labor.
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At a special joint sitting of the New South Wales Legislative Council and the New South Wales Legislative Assembly held on 23 May 2013, Ernest Wong was appointed to fill a casual vacancy in the council, following the resignation of former Labor treasurer Eric Roozendaal who was suspended from the Labor Party in November 2012.
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Ernest Wong serves on various parliamentary committees, including the Select Committees on The Impact of Gambling and Human Trafficking in New South Wales.
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In May 2017, Ernest Wong was one of three Labor MPs to vote with the Liberal Party and National Party to block a bill to decriminalise abortion in the state.
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Ernest Wong voted down other bills such as NSW Parliament bill to legalise same-sex marriage in 2014 and the assisted dying bill in parliament in November 2017.
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Ernest Wong has been reported as a prolific fundraiser for the Labor Party through his association with Huang Xiangmo, a billionaire with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
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In June 2018 it was reported that Australian security agencies detected that Ernest Wong was being cultivated by Chinese government intelligence operatives as part of a long-term operation.
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In 2018 it was reported that Ernest Wong had been removed from a winnable position on the Labor Party Upper House ticket for the 2019 state election.
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Post his political career, in 2019 Ernest Wong appeared before the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption public inquiry into allegations concerning political donations, the NSW Branch of the Australian Labor Party, members of Chinese Friends of Labor and others.
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Ernest Wong was accused of giving false evidence under oath to the inquiry, including details of how Labor received funds following a 2015 fundraising event.
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At the centre of allegations ICAC put to Ernest Wong was that he had secured a donation from Huang Xiangmo, who, as a property developer, was banned from making political donations; and that Ernest Wong had engaged in a scheme to have individuals falsely fill out donation disclosure forms.
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At the time of the fundraising event, Ernest Wong was a member of the NSW Legislative Council.
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Subsequently, ICAC found that Ernest Wong had acted corruptly and sought the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions on whether to pursue prosecution.