Who is Huang Xiangmo and why does the Australian government want him gone?

The Australian government has made an “extraordinary move” in revoking the permanent residency of a powerful Chinese billionaire who has contributed millions to both political parties.

In a story by Nick McKenzie and Chris Uhlmann in The Age today, they say that Australian officials have declared Huang Xiangmo unfit to hold and Australian passport and have cancelled his residency.

“He came to Australia in 2011 and became a somebody through political donations, he gave more than $2 million to both the Coalition and Labor,” Nick told Ross and John.

“The other main play was as the chairman of the peak Chinese Communist Party’s influence group in Sydney.

“You’ll remember Sam Dastyari appearing before a press conference to back the Chinese government’s policy on the South China Sea, that’s Huang Xiangmo.

“All these activities has led the Australian government very recently to decide that he won’t be getting an Australian passport, but more than that, that his permanent Australian residency would be cancelled, and those decisions have been made when he is offshore.”

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Xiangmo is fighting to return to his $13 million Sydney mansion.

“It’s an extraordinary move by Canberra,” he added.

“It’s fair to say this will lead to greater tensions between Beijing and Canberra, which are already at a very low point.”

Image: Bill Shorten holding up a photo of Julie Bishop and Huang Xiangmo in question time in 2017