‘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 MP 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 found guilty of killing Newman to take his seat in parliament and sentenced to die in jail. But there have always been questions about his conviction.

Why did it take seven years and three trials to find Phuong Ngo guilty? Why were the names of so many witnesses and so much evidence kept secret? How could Ngo be the murder mastermind when both of the men accused of shooting Newman were acquitted? Why is the killer still at large? And why do some of the most senior politicians of the day say they never believed Phuong Ngo was guilty?

For the first time, Phuong Ngo tells his story, and The Man Who Couldn’t Wait unpicks one of the country’s longest and most secretive investigations.

‘Superbly told – a story that gnaws at the conscience of the country.’ David Marr

Longlisted for the Australian Political Book of the Year 2026