Former dolphin trainer Labor MP claims phone hacked after ‘fake’ WhatsApp message revealed

Lim told The West Australian the message was posted by “someone from Brisbane” and he made a mistake by allowing the message to be shared. He said it had been removed from all of his chat groups.

He later said he consulted with a friend in Queensland Police and that he thinks his phone may be compromised.

“Possibly, my mobile phone has been compromised,” he told the paper.

“This misinformation is so scary … this is harmful.”

In a letter sent to Lim’s office on Thursday morning association chief executive Robert Gregory said the Jewish community found the message shocking and confronting and questioned Lim’s explanations.

“Your explanation, first blaming someone in Brisbane and then claiming your phone was compromised, raises serious questions,” he said.

“Both propositions cannot be true simultaneously. Such discrepancies demand clarification, as they erode trust in your ability to take responsibility for your own communications.

“As a Federal Member of Parliament, you have taxpayer-funded staff and resources to manage your public communications. Despite this, these hateful words have made their way into the public domain, under your name, and the consequences have been damaging.

“In light of the rise of antisemitism since October 7, where Jewish people in Australia have never felt more unsafe, we simply cannot afford for such misinformation to circulate unchecked.”

Gregory questioned why Lim had not reported the breach to the Australian Federal Police and called on him to issue an apology and urged him to consider resigning as the Tangney MP.

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With a margin of 2.4 per cent, Tangney is Labor’s most marginal seat in Western Australia after Lim wrested it from former Liberal powerbroker Ben Morton at the 2022 election.

Lim’s office declined to provide any further comment or say whether he had alerted the Australian Federal Police of his concerns.

Queensland Police said it could not search for names due to privacy reasons.