Following the election, Ngo joined Labor with the help of the Labor Right, led by Grace and his new Canley Vale branch, now directly competing with the Newman's (Labor Left) Canley Heights branch. Ngo and Newman vied for new members, which led to considerable infighting over branch stacking. The ALP general secretary, John Della Bosca, arranged a meeting to resolve the dispute, during which Ngo agreed not to challenge Newman for pre-selection in exchange for Newman not challenging the credentials of members who joined Ngo's branch. At this time Newman was being targeted: his car had been paint bombed three times and he was receiving death threats. Publicly he blamed the Vietnamese 5T gang, but privately he confided in acquaintances that he believed it was Ngo "and that gang of hooligans" at the Mekong Club.