Drew Pavlou is an absolute champion, he was copping it from both sides when he was suspended by the University of Queensland for his political activism. He had viewed on campus the influence of the Chinese government and their attempts to manipulate free thinking, critical analysis and free speech. To be fair, Drew is pretty outspoken and acutely brash, he is considered to be unapologetic in his approach.

Drew could see the influence of the soft power exerted on the university leadership and the detrimental effects this was having on certain segments of the university student cohort. There is pressure exerted on students, not just Chinese students, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other countries in the region copped it too. The University of Queensland has a Chinese government sponsored Confucius Institute with Drew claiming collusion with the University of Queensland and the Chinese government – ouch.

Instead, Pavlou took the fight directly to Chancellor Peter Varghese and Vice Chancellor Peter Høj suing them personally for $3.5 million in the Supreme Court. They backed up pretty quick when their personal fortune was at stake instead of Drew’s future. The Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission declined to investigate the pair citing insufficient evidence, no action will be taken.

For those who are unfamiliar with Drew Pavlou’s case, as a philosophy student, he organised demonstrations on the University of Queensland campus in support of Hong Kong and uighurs. He was very proactive, apparently he turned out to be a pretty good organiser and pretty soon he found himself under the gaze of University of Queensland Disciplinary Board where he received a two year suspension for what was considered trivial matters. This was later

The Chinese government complained so the University of Queensland management, giddy-headed from all the kool aid they were drinking, suspended Pavlou. The University of Queensland senior management thought they would just run roughshod over Drew, well, that was a mistake. He not only stands up to CCP goons, he is up to the task of taking on UQ senior management, there is no fear.

So Drew appealed his suspension – he lost. The University of Queensland receives some decent funding from China, there is a lot at stake here. The senior management are on a pretty decent deal, they have a lot financially riding on this. Drew, on the other hand is an idealist, it would appear he cannot be bought, he certainly will not be silenced. I see Drew as an ethical guy, he will not be swayed by outside factors, this is his whole motive, if he is compromised then he is no better than those he is campaigning against.

So now Drew is running in federal parliament in the 2022 elections as a senator, now his ethics will be tested. He is the type of guy we want in politics, I will watch his progress in politics, will his ethics stand up? Will he be compromised? I cannot answer these questions, I will have to wait and watch. I do hope he is elected, we will see if ethical conduct can be maintained in politics, I expect Chinese interference in Australian politics will be running red hot, they will target him so I will watch with interest his progress.