Dastyari abuser claims it was tit-for-tat

A MAN who filmed himself racially harassing Senator Sam Dastyari in a Melbourne pub says the Labor MP gives as good as he gets.

The NSW senator was at Melbourne pub Vu on Wednesday when Neil Erikson and others approached him, calling him a “terrorist” and a “monkey” and telling him to go back to Iran.

“Sam’s a strong bloke he’s got a thick skin, he’s been in politics for a long time, “Mr Erikson told ABC radio yesterday. “He called us rednecks, which is a racist term in fact, so look, he gives as good as he gets. I think he’s playing the victim a little bit.”

The member of the farRight group Patriot Blue said everyone had a right to freedom of speech.

Senator Dastyari said he had felt physically threatened by the group.

“What’s happening is our politics is heading into a very, very ugly place,” he said.

“It makes me feel small, makes me feel horrible, it makes you feel kind of terrible and that’s what they are designed to do.”

Senator Dastyari is considering a legal response to the incident, which may have infringed race discrimination laws.

Islamophobia and racism were getting worse in Australia on both the left and right of politics, he said.

Senator Pauline Hanson said while she did not condone the attack against Senator Dastyari she said it was not the first time he had been attacked in public.

“I wasn’t there. I’ve got absolutely nothing to do with it whatsoever,” she said.

She believed Senator Dastyari was attacked, not because of his religion but because of his character.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, meanwhile, said he was disgusted by the “ugly” incident. “What is this country coming to, you cannot go out for a meal without being abused by racist idiots,” he said.