Australian Senator Sam Dastyari under fire for allegedly tipping off Chinese donor about phone tap

Australian ministers have questioned the loyalty of the strife-prone Labor Senator Sam Dastyari to Australia after a report that he tipped off a Chinese political donor that his phone was probably being tapped by security agencies.

Fairfax Media reported on Wednesday that Dastyari had warned the Chinese Communist Party-linked political donor Huang Xiangmo last year that his phone was probably tapped by government agencies, including the US government.

The warning was reportedly made face-to-face, with phones left outside the room.

Dastyari did not deny the conversation but he issued a statement on Wednesday morning saying he could not have passed on protected intelligence to anyone because he didn’t have access to it.

“I reject any assertion that I did anything other than put to Mr Huang gossip being spread by journalists,” Dastyari said. “I have never been briefed by any security agency, or received any classified information about any matter, ever. I’ve never passed on any protected security information – I’ve never been in possession of any.

“And as I’ve said publicly before, I would always act in accordance with any security advice I was given.”