The Man Who Couldn't Wait

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Could the conviction of Vietnamese refugee Phuong Ngo for the 1994 assassination of Cabramatta MP John Newman be one of Australia's greatest miscarriages of justice? 'I think that every now and again our wonderful system cocks up and this was one of those times.' –Former ALP Senator Graham Richardson Cabramatta was embroiled in a heroin epidemic, gang wars and demands to deport Vietnamese gangsters when local member John Newman was gunned down in the driveway of his home. Newman's murder was billed as Australia's first political assassination and the killer was identified within hours as the politically ambitious Vietnamese refugee and Deputy Mayor, Phuong Ngo. Ngo was accused of killing Newman to take his seat in parliament and sentenced to die in gaol. But there have always been questions about his conviction. Why did it take seven years and three trials to find Phuong Ngo guilty? Why was so much evidence and the names of so many witnesses kept secret?