Mexico Life

S01E15 The Assassination of John Newman

John Paul Newman served as a member of the New South Wales Parliament, representing the Cabramatta district. He holds the grim distinction of being Australia’s first political assassination victim. For years, Newman fought against the rampant Asian crime syndicates and local corruption, despite receiving multiple death threats without opting for police protection. On the night of September 5, 1994, he was shot dead outside his home on Woods Avenue, with his fiancée, Lucy Wang, present but unable to fully witness the tragic event. In 2001, Phuong Ngo, a nightclub owner and former candidate for the Labor Party, was found guilty of the murder, while two accomplices avoided conviction. An appeal by Ngo in 2003 was unsuccessful.