Finally knifed by Tanya and Mumbles
Bill Shorten’s right-side fundraising whiz kid, Sam Dastyari, has been knifed by his own Labor party after too much Chinese distraction away from shiny rebirthed Kristina in Chinese Bennelong.
Sam: “Reflecting on the events that lead to my decision, I leave knowing I remain a loyal patriotic foreigner.”
Useless Yank primed for Sam’s job
DASTARDLY CHINESE LINKS
- August 2013: Sam Dastyari elected to the Senate to replace Matt Thistlethwaite who quit to run for a lower house seat.
- 2015: ASIO cautions Labor and the Liberals against taking donations from two businessmen — Huang Xiangmo and Dr Chau Chak Wing — suspected of being conduits to the Chinese Communist Party.
- June 2016: Dastyari defends China’s actions in the South China Sea during a press conference to Chinese journalists, attended by Huang. “The Chinese integrity of its borders is a matter for China,” he said, contradicting Labor policy outlined by its then defence spokesman just days earlier. Details of the press conference were revealed in September 2016, at which time Dastyari said he had only “incorrectly” mumbled an answer to a question he should not have taken.
- August 31, 2016: Government documents reveal the Top Education Institute — a Chinese higher education provider — paid Dastyari’s $1670.82 excess travel bill. Dastyari admits in parliament he should have paid the bill himself.
- September 5, 2016: New details emerge that Dastyari failed to declare two bottles of wine worth $700 given by big Chinese donors.
- September 6, 2016: Shorten tells off his “junior senator” but will not sack him. Dastyari bumbles through a 26-minute press conference where he admits he was wrong to have a Chinese donor pay outstanding bills. He remains defiant that he did not provide political favours in return for the payments.
- September 7, 2016: Quits Labor shadow ministry and role as manager of opposition business in the Senate.
- October 2016: Met with Huang at the businessman’s Sydney mansion and reportedly told him they should leave their phones inside while they spoke outside, as a counter-surveillance measure, and warned him his phone may be tapped.
- February 2017: Appointed deputy opposition whip in the Senate. * June 2017: ABC’s Four Corners reports Dastyari lobbied for Huang to secure Australian citizenship. He says such efforts were part of his job and his office had dealt with hundreds of citizenship matters since he was elected.
- November 28, 2017: Fairfax reports on the October 2016 meeting with Huang. Full audio of the June 2016 press conference emerges, contradicting the senator’s September 2016 explanation.
- November 29, 2017: Bill Shorten tells Dastyari he must resign senior parliamentary positions, including as deputy opposition whip in the Senate. Dastyari says he is “shocked” the audio does not match his recollection of what he said at the press conference.
- December 11, 2017: New reports Dastyari attempted to persuade deputy party leader Tanya Plibersek in early 2015 not to meet an activist who had upset the Chinese Government.
- December 12, 2017: Dastyari announces he will quit the Senate, “guided by my Labor values” and to prevent further damage to the party. Set to follow Andrew Robb.
Caught Undercover
So now it’s Tony Burke’s turn to quit.
Mumbles has similar links to China – a record of multiple trips paid for by the Chinese Communist Party including Hui Wing Mau to 123 AustChina in Beijing. Mumbles supported Sam to secure Chinese political donations to the Labor Party.
Mumbles has to go. Sam can now deploy his skeletons without fear or favour.