Vietnamese refugee Andrew Nguyen lost the western Sydney seat of Fowler to Labor MP Chris Hayes with a staggering 9.4 per cent swing at Saturday's federal election.
The 74-year-old today told SBS he was repeatedly asked to give interviews with Vietnamese publications and SBS Radio during the campaign but was told by the party that he could not speak publicly.
"They said 'turn your phone off, don’t answer any calls at all'," he said.
Mr Nguyen said the party stood no chance in western Sydney because it had ignored the many migrants who populated the area.
"They don’t know how to campaign with ethnic people; how to deal with ethnic people; even deal with an ethnic candidate," he said.
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He claimed Labor ran a "smear campaign" against him and he had been unable to defend his record to the Vietnamese community.
While Labor MP Chris Hayes was out campaigning, Mr Nguyen said voters "never saw him" and "never knew where I was."
Mr Nguyen arrived in Australia as a refugee in 1979, and entered politics in 1991.
SBS earlier reported that Mr Nguyen was refused permission to participate in a community forum.
He was criticised by Greens candidate Benjamin Silaphet who described his failure to attend as "really poor."
