A Liberal candidate has sparked ‘stranger danger’ concerns after he was spotted handing out Easter eggs to kids outside a primary school.
Scott Yung, standing for the seat of Bennelong on Sydney’s Lower North Shore, was seen handing out the chocolates and campaign flyers outside Lane Cove Public School on Wednesday.
It’s understood Mr Yung had arrived before school pick-up time and was greeting children and parents as they came out of the front gates.
The incident angered some parents and that prompted the school principal to make an official complaint to Mr Yung’s campaign.
‘They were handing out Easter eggs and campaigning material to children,’ a parent told The Daily Telegraph.
The parent said Mr Yung was encouraging kids to do ‘exactly what we’re trying to train them not to do’ – take lollies from strangers.
The Department of Education also condemned the incident on Thursday.
‘It is unacceptable for any member of the public to hand out Easter eggs, lollies or any other consumable to children outside a school,’ a department spokesperson said.
Scott Yung (pictured) is standing for the seat of Bennelong on Sydney’s Lower North Shore
Mr Yung was seen giving out Easter eggs to children at Lane Cove Public School (pictured)
A NSW Liberals spokesperson said Mr Yung (pictured) was simply speaking to parents and offering kids Easter eggs with the parents’ permission
But a NSW Liberals spokesperson defended Mr Yung, saying he was simply talking with ‘local parents in a public space’.
‘While speaking to the parents he offered their kids Easter chocolate eggs, with parents’ permission, wishing them a happy Easter,’ they said.
Mr Yung previously ran in the 2019 NSW state election, contesting the seat of Kogarah and narrowly losing to now Premier Chris Minns.
Questions remain over his campaign disclosures during that election, including endorsements from famous Chinese actors, and free work from a public relations agency, which were not declared.
Mr Yung has previously said there was no need to disclose the endorsements and unpaid work because they were provided without charge.
The incident at Lane Cove Public School comes after the Liberals dumped their candidate for the NSW seat of Whitlam, Benjamin Britton, over comments he made about women.
Mr Britton had called for all women to be removed from frontline roles in the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
The party replaced him as candidate for the Labor-held seat, which covers the southern Illawarra and NSW Southern Highlands, with former NSW state MP Nathaniel Smith.
