Sam Dastyari’s career is going nowhere say Labor frontbenchers

Labor frontbenchers in the party’s Left faction are putting renewed pressure on disgraced senator Sam Dastyari.

Labor Senator Sam Dastyari. Picture: AAP.

Labor frontbenchers in the party’s Left faction have put renewed pressure on disgraced senator Sam Dastyari, saying he is “considering his role” and his political career is “going nowhere”. The calls come amid reports that Senator Dastyari tried to persuade deputy leader Tanya Plibersek not to meet a pro-democracy activist who had upset China.

Labor health spokeswoman Catherine King said Senator Dastyari’s position in the Labor Party was a matter for him to reflect on, adding to human services spokeswoman Linda Burney’s earlier call that it was up to the NSW Right factional player to consider his position.

Three sources reportedly told Fairfax Media that Senator Dastyari tried to stop Ms Plibersek from meeting academic Joseph Cheng Yu-shek during a visit to Hong Kong in January 2015.

A spokesman for Senator Dastyari has rejected the claims as “complete rubbish”.

A spokesman for Ms Plibersek said her “itinerary in Hong Kong, including a meeting with a prominent pro-democracy activist, went ahead precisely as scheduled — I think that speaks for itself”.

“Ms Plibersek doesn’t canvass conversations colleagues may or may not have had with her or her office,” he said.

Senator Dastyari was in China at the time on a trip paid for by an organisation controlled by Communist Party-aligned Labor and coalition political donor and businessman Huang Xiangmo, Fairfax said.

Ms King said Labor had been “very clear” about Senator Dastyari’s position.

“His political career is, in essence, going nowhere. (Opposition Leader) Bill (Shorten) has been clear about that. He said he paid a price for his actions. I think those are all matters for Sam to reflect upon.”

Asked whether she was comfortable with Senator Dastyari remaining in the Senate, Ms King said: “That’s a matter for Sam.”

“He’s someone who has been a very effective politician, but I think Bill made it very, very clear that his political career is not going very far. They are matters for Sam to reflect upon,” she said.

“Sam needs to reflect upon his position. I think that Bill’s made it very clear that he’s not going to be getting any promotions, not going to be having any of those positions within the party structure.”

Dastyari ‘considering his role’: Burney

Ms Burney said Ms Plibersek was “one of the most principled politicians in the federal parliament”.

“I think there’s no disagreement about that. She has put out a statement as you’ve said, saying that the meeting went ahead, and I think the other comment was whether Sam Dastyari tried to influence whether she went to that is neither here nor there,” Ms Burney said.

“Bill Shorten took very decisive action in removing Sam Dastyari from all of those positions that he had in the Senate, and that was a very appropriate thing to do.

“It is now up to Mr Dastyari to consider his position, and I’m sure that he’s doing that, but in relation to the continued role of Sam within the parliament, that is a matter I think very much for Sam, and the other thing of course is the irony of all this he did so much good work in bringing many of the big banking institutions and insurance agencies to account by way of his work within the Senate.

“Tanya Plibersek has made a very clear statement. Bill Shorten has taken decisive action. Sam Dastyari I’m sure is thinking very deeply about his role within the party.”

Ms Burney and Ms Plibersek are members of the Left faction in NSW, while Senator Dastyari belongs to the Right.

Dastyari will resign next Sunday: Abbott

Former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott said Labor was doing “a series of inside jobs” on Senator Dastyari and it was highly likely he would resign.

“My tip is that on the Sunday after the Bennelong by-election, Sam Dastyari will resign. That’s my tip,” Mr Abbott told 2GB.

“Every politician has to appreciate that at some point in time his or her political life is over, and it’s not always fair, but it happens.

“It will happen to every single one of us, and sometimes it’s a dreadful mistake, it’s a fundamental error of judgment, and in the case of Sam Dastyari, his blindness to reality when it comes to his dealings with the Chinese and the influence that he’s exercised on their behalf is so great that it really is if you like a political character flaw, and for this particular failing of political character, I’m afraid he just has to go, and I think he would probably appreciate this because let’s face it, you don’t get to be a Labor Party NSW state secretary without having a pretty good head for politics.”

Mark Butler dismisses reports as ‘fevered speculation’

Earlier, ALP President Mark Butler said there was “no suggestion” Senator Dastyari had tried to influence Ms Plibersek, dismissing the reports as “fevered speculation”.

“There’s not really that basis for the reports that I’ve read,” Mr Butler told ABC radio.

“There’s no suggestion about that. That’s fevered speculation. I think the story is a much lower-level story than that.”

‘Double agent’: Dutton

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said Senator Dastyari was a “double agent” who could not remain in the Australian Senate.

“It is important that Linda Burney has called him out, has called for him to go and now Bill Shorten should do the same,” Mr Dutton said.

“I don’t know where Mr Shorten is, I don’t know where he is hiding.

“Mr Shorten needs to go to the media today to make the announcement that we all know is coming, and that is that Sam Dastyari must resign from the Senate.

“You can’t pledge allegiance to two countries if you are an Australian senator. Your first duty is to the Australian people and Sam Dastyari has failed that duty.

“Yes, Mr Dastyari and Mr Shorten are close friends, there is no question about that, but Mr Shorten needs to put aside his friendship with Mr Dastyari. Bill Shorten may rely on Dastyari’s numbers out of New South Wales, but he needs to put that aside and he needs to act in the national interest and so far we haven’t seen it.”

‘Disturbing, damaging allegation about a repeat offender’: Frydenberg

Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said today’s revelations were another “disturbing, damaging allegation” about a repeat offender.

“The Dastyari itch is soon becoming a rash and it will be an outbreak involving the whole of the Labor Party unless Bill Shorten shows Sam Dastyari the back door,” Mr Frydenberg told ABC radio.

“This is again another example of a very dangerous, disturbing pattern of behaviour.”

Asked whether it was accurate to go as far as Mr Dutton in describing Senator Dastyari as a “double agent”, Mr Frydenberg said Senator Dastyari had demonstrated a pattern of behaviour of someone who “doesn’t put Australia’s interests first”.

“All these examples and behaviour do show very clearly somebody who’s not prepared to stand up for Australia, somebody who does appear to be compromised in their behaviour, and somebody who does owe their allegiance elsewhere,” he said.

Mr Frydenberg said the allegations against Senator Dastyari were “very different” from the Liberal Party’s relationship with Chinese donors, after The Australian revealed today that WA Liberal-aligned fundraising machine The 500 Club will tomorrow host a private business briefing by Chinese government officials for federal and state government MPs and its corporate members on China’s Belt and Road economic and strategic policy.

No federal WA Liberal MP contacted by The Australian said they would be attending.

“These are very different events in terms of one in Western Australia,” Mr Frydenberg said.

“The one in Western Australia is a public event. There’s no secrecy about it, no federal MPs are attending.

“The allegations about Sam Dastyari involve activities in secret, activities which seem to be directed at defying potential surveillance activities, seeking a private Chinese benefactor to pay ones own legal bills, and then asking a series of questions, not one or two, but over 100 questions, to the Australian government officials in one’s capacity as a senator in the federal parliament, about activities which seem to be promoted by the Chinese government.”

The government has asked the Senate’s powerful privileges committee to investigate Senator Dastyari’s conduct after it was revealed he tipped off Mr Huang that his phone was probably being tapped by Australian agencies.

Mr Shorten has sacked him from his parliamentary leadership positions.

—With AAP