July 2018, Sky News Video, SMH story
In an interview with Sharri Markson on Sky TV, NSW party secretary Kaila Murnain praised one-time senator Dastyari as having ‘enormous talent’ and said she hoped to get Dastyari back ‘in some capacity’ in the future.
Background:
“Dastyari left the Senate in January, following revelations about his links with Chinese business donors. The Herald revealed that he had advised one donor, wealthy property developer Huang Xiangmo, to leave his phone inside his house when the pair met in Sydney, as the businessman could be under surveillance from security agencies”.
“Mr Dastyari had also previously asked donors with links to mainland China to pay a legal bill, and cover his repayment of travel expenses, while he publicly took a conciliatory position on Beijing’s role in the South China Sea which was at odds with official Labor policy.
December 2018 – SMH, “NSW Labor Party HQ raided by ICAC”
The Labor Party’s Sydney headquarters was been raided by the ICAC over a fundraising dinner for Chinese supporters. More than 600 people attended the dinner at The Eight restaurant in Sydney’s Chinatown on March 13, 2015, two weeks before the NSW election. Among those at the dinner were then state opposition leader Luke Foley, federal Labor leader Bill Shorten, federal MP Chris Bowen and state MPs Nick Lalich and Ron Hoenig.
The key link between wealthy Chinese donors and Labor politicians is upper house MP Ernest Wong.
In 2013, the then general secretary of the NSW branch of the party, Sam Dastyari, rewarded Mr Wong’s prodigious fundraising ability with an upper house seat.
Mr Wong, a former Burwood councillor, replaced former treasurer Eric Roozendaal, who left Parliament to work for businessman Huang Xiangmo’s Yuhu Group.
Mr Wong has close ties to the Chinese development company, which has donated millions of dollars to both sides of politics.
December 2017, SMH
“Labor leader Bill Shorten visited Huang Xiangmo at his Sydney mansion to secure political donations several months after Labor officials were warned the controversial business figure was of interest to ASIO over links to the Chinese government”.