Coalition to quiz ABC over Australian Story on Sam Dastyari
Sam Dastyari was the subject of last night’s Australian Story, prompting anger among MPs at the “soft exposure’’ given to the Labor Senator.
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield will question the ABC about an Australian Story program on colourful NSW Labor Senator Sam Dastyari amid concerns the episode was timed to help with the promotion of a new book by the Iranian-born politician.
MPs today questioned whether the program was part of an attempt to help rebuild the former NSW Labor secretary’s public image after Senator Dastyari’s conduct led to his resignation last year from the Opposition front bench,
“I didn’t catch the episode. From memory, Australian Story have had profiles on half a dozen serving politicians over the last six or so years,” Senator Fifield said. “Given a number of colleagues have raised this episode’s content and its timing, I’ll ask the ABC about the background to it.”
Last year, Senator Dartyari resigned over reports he changed his position on the South China Sea to support China’s view while allowing Chinese government-linked donors to pay his personal bills.
It initially emerged Senator Dastyari had allowed donors to pay a $1670 travel bill and a $5000 legal bill.
It was then revealed he had stood next to the Chinese Australian donor, property millionaire Huang Xiangmo, who paid the legal legal bill for the Senator and pledged to respect China’s and not Labor’s more strident position on the South China Sea.
At the same time reports revealed that in 2014 Senator Dastyari urged Australia to drop its opposition to China’s “Air Defence Identification Zone” (ADIZ) over contested islands in the East China Sea.
Paul Han, an executive of a Chinese government-linked group — the Australian Fellowship of China Guangdong Associations — which Mr Huang controls, worked in Senator Dastyari’s office before the election.
Crossbench Senator Cory Bernardi today dismissed the Australian Story program as an “infomercial” — suggesting the public broadcaster had been co-opted into a career rejuvenation mission for Senator Dastyari.
“Your antennae pricks up when you’ve got a puff piece coinciding with a book launch,” he said. “There are so many questions that Senator Dastyari still has to answer and account for. It’s not unusual for people in public office to try to sanitise their history and reinvent themselves, but it shouldn’t be done with the enthusiastic support of our national broadcaster.”
Tasmanian Liberal Senator Eric Abetz said the ABC, as the national broadcaster, had to be seen by the community as “not being biased in anybody’s favour.”
“To do an Australian Story on a deputy whip in the Senate is passing strange because usually the Australian Story is reserved for more prominent individuals — if they are dealing with parliamentarians. And Senator Dastyari’s career thus far has not been exactly exemplary.
“One wonders why, out of all the parliamentarians they could have chosen, they sought to assist a parliamentarian who is launching a book when his only career highlight thus far has been his disgraceful acceptance of donors’ money to pay personal accounts.”
Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson said it looked to many like the ABC had provided Senator Dastyari with “new tyres and an oil change” in a media pit stop on his bumpy road to political redemption.
“The ABC should have protocols in place before giving a sitting politician this sort of soft exposure, especially given it was timed at a moment when Sam was in over-drive promoting his book, and ultimately political career. He has been nick named ‘showman Sam’ for a reason,” he said.
Senator Whish-Wilson said he would be taking the issue up in Senate Estimates and in particular asking “who approached who” about the story.
Senator Dastyari told ABC radio he had “always attracted a bit of controversy” but argued it was a coincidence the program had run at the same time he was releasing his book.
“I enjoy it, I embrace it and frankly I think attacking the ABC here is a bit ridiculous,” he said.
“The timing of all this had more to do with the fact that I was going on a self-funded trip to my village in Iran for my cousin’s wedding.”
Senator Dastyari denied that he was trying to wipe the slate clean after last year’s donations scandal.
“Not at all,” he said. “I think One Halal of a Story is probably the most honest, frank assessment of modern politics that I could certainly write.”
“It’s a very honest take on what life is like and what politics is like and anyone who’s read it, and I hope some of your listeners will read it, this is not a hagiography. This is a warts and all tale of modern politics.”
“Anyone who’s read this book certainly knows that this isn’t a puff piece, this isn’t a whitewash, this is warts and all.” WITH PRIMROSE RIORDAN, RACHEL BAXENDAL
