He said he was a patriotic Australian and praised Mr Shorten as a"first-rate Labor leader". He also said he would would continue to speak out for"the great multicultural nation that we have become"and promised to remain an active grassroots member of the party.

In 2016,Senator Dastyari resigned from the frontbench afterFairfax Media revealed he may have broken Labor Party rules on political donations by allowing Chinese donors to make payments on his behalf for travel and legal bills.

After several months on the backbench Mr Shorten appointed him to the position of deputy opposition whip.

But Senator Dastyari again attracted controversy when Fairfax Media revealed he hadgiven counter-surveillance advice to donor Xiangmo Huang in a face-to-face meeting at the Chinese community leader's home,telling Mr Huang his phone was likely bugged by intelligence services and directing him to conduct a conversation outside.

Fairfax Media also uncovered and releasedaudio of a June 2016 press conference Senator Dastyari gave alongside Mr Huang in which the senator backed Beijing's position in the South China Sea. Senator Dastyari's comments contradicted Labor policy on the issue and previous claims he had merely"misspoke"during the press conference.

In an attempt to stop the controversy Mr Shorten sacked Senator Dastyari from his parliamentary position,saying he had"lost faith in him"and he had"make a significant mistake of judgement".

Mr Shorten said at the time he did not believe Senator Dastyari had broken any laws nor was he a national security risk.

On Monday,Fairfax Media revealed Senator Dastyari attempted to pressure Deputy Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek to abandon a meeting with a pro-democracy activist opposed to Beijing's interference in Hong Kong,according to multiple sources who said the 2015 intervention surprised Ms Plibersek.

Senator Dastyari attempted to pressure Ms Plibersek to abandon the meeting,and repeatedly attempted to warn her that the encounter would upset figures in the Chinese community in Australia.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has claimed Senator Dastyari had not put Australia's interests first and Immigration Minister Peter Dutton labelled him a"double agent".

The Coalition sought to frame the Dastyari scandals as a test of Mr Shorten's leadership and,in recent days,Labor frontbenchers publicly said he should be considering his position.

Mr Shorten welcomed the resignation and said his colleague could be proud of his legacy in the Senate,which has included work on banking misconduct and corporate tax avoidance.

"Sam Dastyari is a good,decent and loyal Australian,and an effective parliamentarian,but his judgement has let him down and now he has paid the heaviest price,"Mr Shorten said.

Senator Dastyari said he would co-ordinate his formal departure from the Senate with the NSW branch of the Labor Party,which will have to select his replacement.