To my knowledge, UQ has never suspended or expelled a student for activism or speech, not during the Vietnam Moratorium period, or while Joh Bjelke-Petersen was Premier, or when students bricked the glass in Mayne Hall because the university was about to make him "Dr Joh". [1]

Yet - in a classic bit of news management, dropping the story on Friday afternoon - they've suspended Drew Pavlou, conveniently until the end of his Senate term. [2]

I'm aware that there's more to the story than is being reported. Drew Pavlou is widely disliked. I have been approached by a number of individuals who've had run-ins with him telling me they think he's an attention-seeker, aggressive, & argumentative. [3]

When his story first broke, I noticed that I had his account muted. I mute for rudeness. How much of this is the university getting rid of someone because he's a burr under the saddle and using the Confucius Institute as an excuse remains to be seen.[4]

However, I'll note here I'm a UQ alum; the university medal I won there in 1995 probably got me into Oxford. I was also known for stirring the possum & being a burr under the saddle. There was never a hint I would be suspended or expelled. [5]

This was despite the fact that various leftie academics loathed me and all my works and all my ways. [6]

I have been observing the Drew Pavlou saga unfold with mounting alarm. It is in everyone's interests for UQ to be transparent about why he's not wanted. Is it a simple case of "cui bono" leading directly to the CCP, or is there something more? [7]

I left Queensland a long time ago, reversing the immigration decision my parents made & returning to the UK. But I'm old enough to remember "Queensland, Police State, Demand the Right to Demonstrate". And demonstrate seems to be all Drew Pavlou has done. [8]