Former prime minister John Howard believes Labor's Sam Dastyari should be ditched from the frontbench because Chinese "cash for comment" allegations against him are damaging his party.
Relying on the "true Westminster principle" that a frontbencher goes if their continued presence damages the team, Mr Howard said Senator Dastyari definitely fell into that category for asking a Chinese donor to pay a personal debt.
"And that was the rule in the end that I applied when people got into difficulty and I think (Senator Dastyari), on that ground, he has gone a million," he told the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday.
