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Today'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's national interests. While @DrewPavlou and @PearsonElaine deserve to be heard the idea of a 'great
science swindle' based on one patent lodged in China without the academic's knowledge is not evidence of widespread scientific theft. China is Australia'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's Education and Home Affairs Minister's noted Australia'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'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't take the issue as seriously as it deserves. Hopefully i will be wrong but at this stage it
looks like an expensive, politically motivated waste of time. And I really hope I'm wrong and more comes out of it. I've approached this with an open mind and I can't see any evidence of widespread theft of Australian IP
