Bill's man Sam

So, Senator Sam Dastyari has resigned from the Labor front bench. It all came a week too late; it should have happened on day one.
He had been a captain's pick by Bill Shorten; against the wishes of the party.
(From memory, Sam was vote #27 of 28 for the front bench as voted by Labor colleagues.)
It went horribly wrong and Bill stuck by his man.
Bill had described him as a junior member of the front bench who would be demoted and he would learn through the experience and over time be rehabilitated.
Sam was not a junior; he was Bill's pick as Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate. He was not a junior given the role.

Anyway, it's all over. The first scalp of the new parliament.

On reflection, Bill Shorten should have acted immediately and sacked Sam on day one. Bill and Labor lost credibility by taking the stance that Sam would over time be returned after a stint of say 12 months on the back bench. They just don't get it; for political credibility, Sam must never be returned to Labor's front bench.

This reminds me of the Liberal's Jamie Briggs affair in the seat of Mayo, SA.
Jamie became un-electable. No woman would vote for him and probably most thinking men would give him the flick.
And yet, the Liberals stuck by their man and thought that over time Jamie could be returned to the front bench.
At the 2016 election, Jamie lost his seat and the Liberals very nearly lost government.

Political leaders need to better understand our sentiments and do the right thing; and not just act in terms of political expediency. They need to listen to us, now; and not just at an election.

Bill Shorten, you need to toughen up; get some ticker; and make the hard calls.
Malcolm Turnbull, you should have insisted that Jamie Briggs not be preselected.