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Sam Dastyari has pointed to his attendance at a Chinese film festival to justify using taxpayer funds to campaign for Labor, even though MPs are banned from using their travel perks for political work.
The embattled Labor senator has gone to ground amid a ferocious government assault, triggered by a Fairfax Media report that he asked a business with links to the Chinese government to pay a $1600 bill after exceeding travel entitlements.
Attorney-General George Brandis even questioned whether Senator Dastyari had "compromised" himself by letting the company pick up the tab.
The former NSW Labor secretary has also come under fire after revelations he backed China's position on the South China Sea while standing next to another Chinese donor who has previously paid the senator's legal bills. The mid-election declaration was at odds with Labor's policy, drawing a strong public rebuke from factional ally Tony Burke on Thursday.
A fresh examination of the senator's travel logs show he billed taxpayers $650.40 to fly from Sydney to Melbourne on November, 29, 2014 – the day of the Victorian state election. His flight from Melbourne to Canberra the next day cost $516.99.
Senator Dastyari posted a photo of himself on election day "working a booth" with Victorian senator Kim Carr.
The Department of Finance forbids MPs from travelling on the taxpayer's dime for party-political purposes.
But Senator Dastyari insisted he did not breach the rules because he attended a Chinese film event at the Crown Hotel, where he stayed at the Chinese Film Association's expense.
"That was the primary purpose of my trip," he said.
"I had been invited to the event in my capacity as a senator. No Victorians from the opposition were able to attend because of the state election."
A further review of Senator Dastyari's register of interests also shows he failed to properly disclose the identity of donors who provided him with tickets to sporting matches, including the A-League, an international Test cricket match and the NRL grand final.
The guidelines for disclosing gifts states: "The source of any gift should be identified by name."
When asked why the donors had not been named, Senator Dastyari said in a statement the Western Sydney Wanderers and the NRL had provided the tickets to the relevant games and conservative lobbyist David Miles paid for the cricket match. He promised to check with the Clerk of the Senate about his reporting requirements.
It is not the first time Senator Dastyari has been forced to defend using taxpayer fights for Labor Party purposes. Last year it was revealed he charged taxpayers to fly from Sydney to Melbourne, where he attended a rail union protest.
Senator Brandis led the government's attack on Thursday.
"Senator Dastyari's acceptance of personal benefits from an entity or entities with links to the Chinese state, and the carefully opaque way in which the payments have been described in the Register of Senators Interests, raises the inevitable question of whether Senator Dastyari — whether advertently or unwittingly — has allowed himself to be compromised," he said.
"Senator Dastyari needs to answer whether, in fact, he is delivering on the extensive support provided to him."
Trade Minister Steve Ciobo called for Senator Dastyari to stand down.
The suddenly media-shy senator declined all interviews on Thursday after revelations he asked the Top Education Institute, run by prolific Chinese-Australian businessman Minshen Zhu, to pay his personal debt to the Commonwealth worth $1670.
Things got worse when the Australian Financial Review reported that at a June press conference for Chinese media, Senator Dastyari pledged to respect China's position in the volatile South China Sea dispute, at odds with the Labor Party's position.
The senator was also reported as saying "the South China Sea is China's own affair". He called on Australia to remain neutral and drop its opposition to China's air defence zone in the region.
Labor frontbencher Tony Burke slapped down his colleague on television and restated the party's "crystal clear" stance on the issue.
"All parties should respect international law and we urge restraint and that's the position and that's what the answer should have been," Mr Burke said.
