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‘I don’t give my eight-year-old as many chances as Sam Dastyari’, Deb Knight tells Anthony Albanese

THIS is the moment exasperated Today show host Deb Knight gave up on feuding political rivals Anthony Albanese and Christopher Pyne as they flew into a war of words over embattled senator Sam Dastyari.

Deb Knight throws her script in the air to try and control Albanese/Pyne interview

THIS is the moment exasperated Today show host Deb Knight gave up on feuding political rivals Anthony Albanese and Christopher Pyne as they flew into a war of words over embattled senator Sam Dastyari.

The TODAY Show presenter ended up throwing her script into the air as the pollies launched into a tirade over the national security implications of the Dastyari affair.

Albanese struggles to defend Shorten's refusal to dump Sam Dastyari.
Albanese struggles to defend Shorten's refusal to dump Sam Dastyari.
Labor senator Sam Dastyari is facing numerous calls for his resignation. Picture Gary Ramage
Labor senator Sam Dastyari is facing numerous calls for his resignation. Picture Gary Ramage

The Nine news reporter pushed Albanese, asking him why Bill Shorten keeps giving Dastyari so many chances over his dealing with a wealthy political donor with strong ties to the Chinese government.

Amid numerous calls for his resignation, the Federal Labor leader has admitted he has lost faith in the one-time powerbroker but was confident the senator hadn’t broken any law and was not a security risk.

The two pollies flew into a heated exchange after Albanese attempted to defend his boss’s refusal to dump Dastyari.

TODAY host Deb Knight tries to control the pair today.
TODAY host Deb Knight tries to control the pair today.

“I don’t give my eight -year-old son as many chances as Bill Shorten has given Sam Dastyari,” Knight said.

But in a nod to the recent controversy in which a staffer for Liberal Senator Michaelia Cash alerted media to raids on AWU offices, Albanese said: “The government’s still taking funding from this donor. As much as they’ve donated to the Labor party, it is the government that has been exposing national security issues just like over the Michaelia Cash issue, it was the government that alerted the media.”

Pyne quick interjected: “Not for personal expenses.

“What’s unacceptable is telling Chinese people who could potentially be people of interest not to use their phones because they could be being listened to by security issues,” he said.

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Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/sydney-confidential/i-dont-give-my-eightyearold-as-many-chances-as-sam-dastyari-deb-knight-tells-anthony-albanese/news-story/5602344dbd11b5c266efd3c121c94491