page_title: Andrew Hastie (politician)
section_title: Sovereignty
hierarchical_section_title: Andrew Hastie (politician) / Political views / Sovereignty
caption_attribution_description: English: Andrew Hastie MP with Mayor Rhys Williams at March 2020 Citizenship Ceremony in Mandurah photo taken by D Birch
context_page_description: Andrew William Hastie is an Australian politician who serves as the Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. He became the Federal Member for Canning with the Liberal Party in 2015, having served as a troop commander in the Special Air Service Regiment. Known as a conservative he has made controversial statements on Australia's need to "preserve our sovereignty" and defy the "expansionist" Communist Party of China. These views have been condemned as "totally intemperate" and "inflammatory" by Australian corporate leaders, then praised as a matter of "strong public interest" even "necessary, and important" by security analysts Professor Clive Hamilton and Professor Rory Medcalf. His stance led to the Government of China blocking him and his colleague James Paterson from visiting China on a study tour, demanding that they "repent" from their views.
context_section_description: Sovereignty is an increasingly frequent topic in Hastie's writing and speeches, which he defines as being the ability to "preserve Australia’s strategic freedom of action, the ability to pursue our own interest, economic or otherwise, and also it means resilience." 
  Hastie argues that Australia's representatives must be the ones making decisions, rather than foreign actors, and so "upholding our political system is the first thing that we must do because that at least preserves our political leadership and their ability to make decisions, un-influence by greater powers.” As such he strongly resists foreign influence on the working of the Australian economy, culture or political system. "My bottom line is Australian sovereignty – I want to protect our way of life, our freedom of action and our political institutions. That's my job as a member of the Commonwealth Parliament. I make no apologies for it."
caption: The Mayor of Mandurah, Rhys Williams, with Andrew Hastie MP, hosting an Australian Citizenship ceremony in March 2020
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