Labor Senator Sam Dastyari didn’t declare Chinese gift were Penfolds Grange

LABOR Senator Sam Dastyari has revealed he failed to declare that the “two bottles of wine’’ he was gifted by big Chinese donorsand then donated to charity were actually bottles of Penfold Grange.

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LABOR Senator Sam Dastyari has revealed he failed to declare that the “two bottles of wine’’ he was gifted by big Chinese donors the Yuhu group and then donated to charity were actually bottles of Penfold Grange.

The wine, which retails for over $700 a bottle is the same drop that ended the political career of NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell after he admitted a “massive memory fail’’ at the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Yuhu is also the same company that picked up the Labor senator’s $5,000 legal bill and was involved in the election press conference where he is accused of pledging to respect China’s position in the South China Sea, a revelation that prompted critics to dub the rising him the “Manchurian candidate.’’

Sam Dastyari (right) at a Yuhu donation.

Described simply as “two bottles of wine’’ in his parliamentary register of interests, the wine was gifted to Senator Dastyari by Yuhu around October, 2013 to celebrate his appointment to a casual vacancy in the Senate. They were duly disclosed in December, 2013.

Senator Dastyari indicated yesterday that he did not believe he needed to disclose the wine from Yuhu was Penfolds given that he had disclosed they were worth more than $700 when he declared them on a parliamentary register.

It was dropped off by the Yuhu group at his office to celebrate his appointment to the Senate around the time of the birth of his first child, underlining his longstanding links with the company.

“I received two bottles of wine at the time I became a Senator,’’ Senator Dastyari said yesterday.

“I donated those two bottles to the Exodus foundation. I knew Rev Bill Crews could do some good with them.’’

Labor Senator Sam Dastyari and wife Helen Barron.

Senator Dastyari has been under political siege this week following revelations that he asked another Chinese donor to repay a $1,600 debt to taxpayers after he overspent his travel allowance. He has since donated the money to charity.

But the Coalition’s attacks have been blunted by revelations that Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, former Nationals leader Warren Truss and Attorney General George Brandis were happy to let the Communist Party of China pick up the tab for their own travel to China in 2012.

The government yesterday defended the official delegation to China at the invitation of the Communist Party as not unusual.

Penfolds Grange

The Yuhu group also donated $750,000 to the Liberal Party in recent years. In 2013, Scott Morrison also declared on his register of interests he received a $300 Mount Blanc pen from Huang Xiangmo, Chairman of Yuhu Group.

Under parliamentary rules, gifts valued at more than $750 received from government sources or at $300 other sources such as companies need to be disclosed. The source of any gift should be identified by name.

The Chinese-based property group Yuhu is one of the largest political donors to the New South Wales and also picked up the tab for $5,000 in private legal bills when Senator Dastyari was sued by an advertising company.

Despite reports the legal bills amounted to $40,000, the ALP has suggested the actual bill paid by Yuhu for the Labor senator was closer to $5,000.

When Mr O’Farrell resigned two years ago, Tony Abbott said he understood the oversight.

“If you’re in public life, you meet lots of people; from time to time people give you things,” he said.

“They might give you ties, they might give you pens, a bottle of wine and, sure, a bottle of Grange is pretty special, no doubt about that, but given that premiers and other senior politicians have very crowded, busy lives, I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect everything from some years ago to be front of mind.”