The leak about Dastyari warning Plibersek off meeting the Chinese dissident in Hong Kong can only have come from Plibersek or been sanctioned by her imo.
The earlier Mossman PhoneGate leak likewise came from Plibersek or was sanctioned by her imo.
It’s likely that security services briefed both the Gov and Opp soon after PhoneGate but with Dastyari already benched there was no mileage to be had by the Gov at the time.
The Bennelong by election presented Labor the perfect reason and opportunity to throw Dastyari under the bus in their preparedness to burn a Labor Senator for a Lower House MP in Bennelong Keneally even has the protection of replacing Dastyari in the senate if unsuccessful in Deniston.
It’s finely tuned with Labor now prosecuting the Libs in Bennelong as China Phobics.
Dirty but effective politics or Labor being too cute?
In Bennelong, aren’t Labor really broad casting that like Dastyari they are able and willing to be bought by Chinese influence?
And of the 20% Chinese population in Bennelong are they escapees from an at times brutal Communist regime or die hard 5th Communists themselves?
It’s not completely obvious to me that Australian resident Chinese would be enamoured by their former Government’s efforts to inculcate Australian politics.
An amazing confluence of tricky politics in Bennelong ... the final days campaigning will decide the outcome imo.
