Dastyari reveals how Huang Xiangmo courted politicians

Sam Dastyari revealed how Chinese donor Huang Xiangmo courted politicians and contributed millions to both major parties.

Sam Dastyari was the former General Secretary of the Labor Party in NSW. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Sam Dastyari has revealed how Chinese donor Huang Xiangmo, who is believed to be stranded in Hong Kong after being stripped of his Australian Permanent residency, courted politicians and contributed millions of dollars to both major parties.

Mr Dastyari said his first encounter with Mr Huang should have sparked “warning bells” after he met him at a private restaurant in Sydney’s Chinatown which had no name or signage.

“He had just booked out an entire restaurant to have dinner with me. I was vain. Arrogant. Thought I was special,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

“He had a mixture of personal charm and charisma and also the fact that he came to Australia with an incredible amount of wealth that was being splashed around at a charity level, a community level and a political level.” he said.

Huang Xiangmo and Sam Dastyari at a press conference for the Chinese community. Picture: Supplied.

Mr Dastyari made headlines in 2017 when it was revealed Mr Huang’s company paid the former federal senator’s personal legal bills, with concerns coming to the forefront after the pair appeared at a press conference for Chinese media. Mr Dastyari used the conference to voice his support of Beijing’s stance on the South China Sea, contradicting Labor’s position.

“There is an arms race for donations between the parties. And when you’ve got individuals like Huang who are prepared to fork out millions of dollars they get listened to,” the former General Secretary of the Labor Party in NSW said.

The account comes after the Australian government confirmed the Communist Party-aligned businessman had also been denied Australian citizenship. Mr Huang had previously been living in Sydney with his wife and children since 2011 and is now believed to be stranded in Hong Kong.

He made numerous donations to both major parties and individual MPs’ campaigns between 2013 and 2016 including a $405,000 donation to the Coalition in the 2014 financial year. In the previous year, he gave $200,000 to the Labor Party, according to the Australian Electoral Commission. He also funded the Australia-China Relations Institute at University of Technology Sydney, headed by former Labor foreign minister Bob Carr.

Mr Dastyari said the billionaire property developer was like a “celebrity” in Sydney’s Chinatown that made him more powerful in his community than “a Frank Lowy, James Packer or Harry Triguboff combined,” The Daily Telegraph reports.

Mr Dastyari said the foreign donation ban did not solve the problem because “there are loopholes you can drive a truck through”, admitting the only way to remove foreign influence was to impose a cap on donations.

Both policitcal parties are now under scrutiny as to whether they should return the donations from Mr Huang.