During the sterling crisis of 1964 when the British pound was under enormous stress, a hard-pressed Wilson said this to lobby correspondents: "A week is a long time in politics."

This observation might have become a political cliche, but it does not make it any less pertinent.

Shorten has just endured one of his worst weeks as Opposition Leader. He will be hoping Wilson is right and he can put behind him a horror few days thanks to the appalling judgment of one of his own.

Just over a week ago, colleagues at Fairfax Media reported Labor senator Sam Dastyari had tipped off a Chinese donor his phone was being tapped by intelligence agencies.

Taken together with revelations Dastyari had accepted money on a previous occasion from this same big money donor to pay his personal debts, that was bad enough.

But when it emerged the next day in further Fairfax reporting of a previously unpublished tape recording that showed the senator had lied about remarks contradicting Labor policy in a private briefing with Chinese media on the South China Sea, his position became untenable.

He has been stood down. He should be obliged to find alternative employment. This is unacceptable behaviour for a public official in an environment in which Chinese daqian - literally "big money" - influence risks corrupting the politics.

In long overdue legislation to ban foreign political donations - and require those acting on behalf of foreign entities to register - the Turnbull government should be commended.

What is now required is a clinical approach to cataloguing institutions that seek to influence the political process and their sources of funding. There is no point putting legislation on the statute books unless it is properly policed in the interests of transparency, especially when it comes to lobbying organisations operating in the service of foreign entities.

For Shorten, the two weeks until Christmas and a momentary cessation of hostilities will seem like forever. Just a week ago, Turnbull was facing the "killing season".

That’s right – a week is a long time in politics.