Malcolm Turnbull is demanding Sam Dastyari's immediate resignation, but Bill Shorten argues there is precedent for departing politicians to take time to wrap up their affairs.
The embattled NSW Labor figure announced on Tuesday he will quit parliament after being engulfed in a deepening scandal concerning his links to a Chinese political donor.
But foreshadowing his resignation isn't enough for the prime minister. Mr Turnbull says the senator betrayed Australia.
"He's still taking money from the taxpayers of the country that he put second," Mr Turnbull told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.
But the opposition leader said former Liberal ministers Joe Hockey and Michael Ronaldson quit 34 and 73 days respectively after announcing they would resign.
Former Greens leader Christine Milne took 98 days, he said.
Unlike Senator Dastyari, however, none of them were forced out by self inflicted controversy.
"There's plenty of precedent for people to professionally wrap up their matters and give staff plenty of notice," Mr Shorten told reporters in Sydney.
"That's what any sensible person does."
He expects Senator Dastyari, who plans to step down before NSW state parliament sits to formally endorse his replacement in February, to officially exit "sooner rather than later".
Treasurer Scott Morrison joined other senior Turnbull government ministers in labelling the saga as a failure of the opposition leader.
"Bill Shorten failed another test by not kicking Sam Dastyari out of the Labor Party," Mr Morrison told ABC Radio.
Labor frontbencher Richard Marles denied the powerbroker's departure had sparked factional friction within the party.
"It's impossible not to feel sad today and we feel that; it's not tension," Mr Marles told Sky News on Wednesday.
Senator Dastyari has been engulfed in controversy over his dealings with Communist Party-aligned businessman Huang Xiangmo.
The NSW representative and factional ally of Mr Shorten was sacked from his senior parliamentary roles by the leader a week before deciding to resign from parliament.
The coalition government says the only reason Senator Dastyari quit was because he was damaging Labor in the lead-up to Saturday's crucial by-election in the Sydney seat of Bennelong
His decision to leave parliament also heads off further scrutiny from the Senate's powerful privileges committee.
The coalition asked the committee to investigate Senator Dastyari's conduct after it was revealed he told Mr Huang - who's donated to both major parties - his phone was probably being tapped by Australian agencies.
Mr Huang's company last year paid Senator Dastyari's personal legal bills, and the businessman appeared with him at a conference held for Chinese media, where he supported Beijing's stance on the South China Sea, contradicting Labor's position.
