Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Sam Dastyari then calls a press conference at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices. He stands at a dais with the Commonwealth emblem at the front, with Australian flags behind, and, with his Chinese benefactors, then declares a position on the South China Sea which is totally at odds with the Labor Party and with Australian government policy. That is when you are bought by a Chinese corporation. That is what Sam Dastyari did.

What I like about this tawdry little story is the way that the Leader of the Opposition stood by Senator Dastyari. He said:

In terms of Senator Dastyari, he has spoken to me directly about this issue. … I don't buy into Mr Turnbull's petty insinuations of anything untoward in terms of Senator Dastyari’s motivations.

Well, Senator Dastyari knew that he had been bought by a Chinese corporation. That is when money buys influence, whereas, in the case of the Australian government, our position on the South China Sea has been consistent throughout—before the arbitration, after the arbitration—and it is in Australia's national interest.

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