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Today& #39;s #highered #auspol inquiry into foreign interference diminishes a very important issue and brings it into the realm of culture war territory that is damaging to Australia& #39;s national interests. While @DrewPavlou and @PearsonElaine deserve to be heard the idea of a & #39;great
science swindle& #39; based on one patent lodged in China without the academic& #39;s knowledge is not evidence of widespread scientific theft. China is Australia& #39;s leading research partner and is the taxpayer going to be left to pick up the amount of its half a trillion dollar research
spend here. Also worth remember when the first story was published Australia& #39;s Education and Home Affairs Minister& #39;s noted Australia& #39;s foreign interference taskforce is rated by ASPI as the best in the world. In the face of a media campaign and an ambitious backbencher plus a
potentially embarrassing situation of backbenchers crossing the floor to vote on a rival Katter motion - the government crumbled. Embarrassing for our journalism and our parliamentary institutions. Remember the evidence is one patent lodged in China without the academic& #39;s
knowledge. Then there were a whole lot of attempts to conflate the situation with the US where there are specific laws requiring registering as a foreign agent if money is received from overseas. The conflation in the series is completely out of context
My reporting demonstrates I believe universities should be scrutinised but rolling out an inquiry at a time of rising tensions (coincidentally on walkley deadline day) is thin and doesn& #39;t take the issue as seriously as it deserves. Hopefully i will be wrong but at this stage it
