Door open for Dastyari frontbench return

Labor is leaving the door open for Sam Dastyari's frontbench return after he quit over revelations he allowed personal debts to be paid by a Chinese donor.

Labor leader Bill Shorten and Sam Dastyari Source: AAP

Federal Labor has left the door open for Sam Dastyari to return to the frontbench after senior opposition MP Mark Dreyfus said there were precedents.

Senator Dastyari stepped down as consumer affairs spokesman and manager of opposition business in the Senate on Wednesday after a week of government attacks.

It followed revelations he'd allowed a Chinese donor to pay a personal debt and reportedly took a pro-China stance on the South China Sea at odds with Labor's position.

Mr Dreyfus noted there was still doubt over what Senator Dastyari actually, despite the comments reported by Chinese media.

"It's not entirely clear," he told ABC radio on Thursday.

"What is clear is that he backs Labor policy."

Mr Dreyfus echoed Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, insisting Senator Dastyari still had a lot to offer parliament.

Whether or nor he returned to the shadow ministry was a matter for the leader and caucus.

"We've seen people come back before from resigning a frontbench position," Mr Dreyfus said.

"He has a prospect, while he remains in the Senate, of coming back."

Meanwhile, Labor is vowing to continue its fight to get foreign government donations to political parties banned.

The coalition government is resisting the push.

"I'm not going to discriminate against foreign donations," cabinet minister Christopher Pyne told ABC radio.

A bans could raise constitutional issues around freedom of speech, he added.

"There is absolutely no correlation between political donations ... from Australian-Chinese persons and the circumstances that Sam Dastyari found himself in touting for a personal payment by another entity," deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop said.

Cabinet minister Sussan Ley said his return to the Labor frontbench should be ruled out.

"I had to renounce my British citizenship when I became a member of parliament," she told ABC TV.

"It would never cross my mind that another country's agenda could influence me, even the country of my birth."

Labor frontbencher Stephen Jones said Senator Dastyari did the right thing by resigning.

"It's been a distraction from the woeful performance of Malcolm Turnbull," he told ABC radio.

Mr Shorten has described Senator Dastyari as a "young bloke with a bright future ahead of him" and insisting he has "a lot more to offer".