Playing With Fire

Labor Senator Sam Dastyari was a rising star in the halls of Parliament House, until a political donations scandal brought him undone last year. The colourful 34-year-old Senator came to Australia as a four-year-old, having fled the religious regime in Iran with his sister and parents. He was a gifted student and joined the Labor Party at just 16, enjoying a meteoric rise through the party all the way to the Shadow Ministry. But when news broke that he had asked a business with links to the Chinese Government to pay an office travel bill, the Senator became embroiled in a deepening scandal which cost him his spot on the Opposition Frontbench. Sam Dastyari talks exclusively to Australian Story, answering lingering questions about his conduct.