Sam Dastyari verbally abused at pub

Senator Sam Dastyari has blamed One Nation for empowering a right-wing group to verbally assault him at a pub.

A racist verbal attack on Labor senator Sam Dastyari last night that left him feeling physically threatened has been condemned by the Prime Minister and the opposition leader.

The men, calling themselves working-class patriots, heckled the Iranian-born senator at a Melbourne pub on Wednesday night with “You terrorist. You little monkey” and demanded to know if he was a Muslim.

The men from the right-wing group Patriot Blue filmed the incident and posted it on their Facebook page. “Why don’t you go back to Iran you terrorist,’’ one member of the group told the senator.

Senator Dastyari blamed the rise of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation for empowering racists to launch the verbal attack on him.

Sam Dastyari is ambushed by members of right wing group Patriot Blue who recorded the event and posted it online.

“They are the sickening face of white nationalists in this country. What’s happening is our politics is heading into a very, very ugly place,” he told the Nine Network this morning.

“It makes me feel small, makes me feel horrible, it makes you feel kind of terrible and that’s what they are designed to do.”

One Nation rejected Senator Dastyari’s portrayal of the incident, with leader Pauline Hanson claiming he was a “pipsqueak” who was using the incident to “plug his new book”.

Far-right campaigner and convicted stalker Neil Erikson, who with others approached Senator Dastyari at the pub, told ABC radio this morning that: “Sam’s a strong bloke, he’s got a thick skin, he’s been in politics for a long time.

“He called us rednecks, which is a racist term in fact, so look, he gives as good as he gets.

“I think he’s playing the victim a little bit.”

The member of the far-right group Patriot Blue was one of three men who approached Senator Dastyari at the Footscray pub, where he was launching a book with local MP Tim Watts.

Bar manager Kim Soi told AAP Senator Dastyari was just trying to order a beer when the incident happened.

“He (was) trying to have a beer and then they were attacking him. One guy was filming and one guy kept asking questions,” Ms Soi told AAP. She said another manager called security but the men had already left by the time they arrived.

“Three of the tradesman came out of nowhere and started to abuse him, calling him names,” Ms Soi said.

“He just kind of ignored them ... he just wanted to order a beer.” Mr Erikson uploaded a video of him abusing Senator Dastyari to Facebook, and later called the Labor MP a “sook” for complaining about the harassment.

Meanwhile, both Mr Erikson and transport and logistics company Toll Holdings say he does not work for Toll, despite wearing a hi-vis vests with its logo in the video.

Mr Erikson told Melbourne radio 3AW he wasn’t employed by Toll and wore the shirt to his “other job”.

Toll said he is “not employed by Toll and has not worked for us for several months”. “The actions of these individuals in no way reflect the beliefs and values of Toll.”

In 2014, Mr Erikson was ordered to do community service after pleading guilty to stalking a Melbourne rabbi.

He’s also appealing against a 2017 conviction for beheading a dummy outside a Bendigo council office in protest over plans to build a mosque.

A 'Patriot Blue' member who filmed a verbal attack on @samdastyari denies he's a racist. MORE: https://t.co/WSZsuZspMw pic.twitter.com/uu2u7yvr4d

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 8, 2017

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Malcolm Turnbull said there was no place for racial vilification in Australia. “That is because our society is built on a foundation of mutual respect. It should have zero tolerance for racist abuse like this,” the Prime Minister told Seven.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said he was disgusted by the “ugly” incident. “What is this country coming to when you cannot go out for a meal without being abused by racist idiots,” he told Seven.

In a media conference in Queensland, Senator Hanson said: “I think he’s just using this as publicity to sell his book. I don’t see anything in this. I really don’t”.

“Do people have respect for Dastyari? I don’t believe they do. He’s taken money from the Chinese to pay for his legals. He’s done the wrong thing and I don’t think the public respect him”.

When asked about the “right-wing extremists” who attacked Senator Dastyari, she said she had no sympathy for Mr Dastyari and that he’s “played up this whole thing”.

“He’s admitted he’s a non-practising Muslim, so he’s played up this whole thing and people in Australia will make up their own minds up about this little Mr Bean,” she said. “Because that’s what he looks like, a little Mr Bean. He’s a smart-arse. He’s got no respect for the people and he plays up his position”.

.@PaulineHansonOz: @samdastyari is using being called a 'terrorist' in a Melbourne pub to sell his book. MORE: https://t.co/WSZsuZspMw pic.twitter.com/wDgcGl1Shb

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 8, 2017

Senator Dastyari is considering a legal response to the incident, which may have infringed race discrimination laws.

Islamophobia and racism were getting worse in Australia on both the left and right of politics, he said. “I worry about all the people out there that have to put up with all this kind of abuse who don’t have the structures that someone like I’m lucky enough to have.”

During the incident, when Senator Dastyari called them racists, they replied with: “What race is Islam?” In a Q&A session at the pub with fellow Labor MP Mr Watts after the incident, Senator Dastyari said he was regularly subjected to similar incidents because he was a Muslim. “All of this is the rise of the radical right in this country, it is the rise of One Nation right,” Senator Dastyari said. “These are people who feel incredibly empowered because of what Pauline Hanson has done for them.

“You dance so far to the right that it gives those a little bit further out a sense of entitlement.” But speaking to the Today show, Senator Dastyari left things on a lighter note.

“They went to a bar and didn’t even stay for a drink,” he said. “What kind of patriots are they?”

"They call themselves Australian patriots, @KarlStefanovic they went to a bar and didn't even stay for a drink..."-@SamDastyari #9Today pic.twitter.com/WVtenisHcH

— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) November 8, 2017

The True Blue Crew group later posted on Facebook: “An Iranian born Senator calls me a Racist I’m gonna call him a Terrorist - Fairs Fair.”

“Tonight will always be the night that we got harassed by cowardly white nationalists & (at)TimWattsMP yelled “what race is dickhead” hashtag strayamate,” Senator Dastyari tweeted last night after the incident.

With AAP

Tonight will always be the night that we got harassed by cowardly white nationalists & @TimWattsMP yelled “what race is dickead” #strayamate

— Sam Dastyari (@samdastyari) November 8, 2017