That ordinary Australian university student politics can harm trade with China demonstrates why Peter Varghese & Andrew Robb's China FTA is a bad deal: Varghese must be removed as UQ Chancellor, must not be allowed to trash Australian university traditions in order to defend his legacy

by Ganesh Sahathevan

                         

                                           Australian national interest better served by the removal of
                                                               Peter Varghese as UQ Chancellor



In praise of his work the then  Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr Peter N Varghese AO declared in 2015: 

"ChAFTA is a remarkably good deal for Australia and the best deal that China has done with any partner to date.ChAFTA will make a real difference to the livelihoods of Australian farmers and producers".

The claim that the China-Australia Free Trade deal (ChAFTA) is "the best" that China has done with any country is interesting. Given the position that Australia finds itself in today where it would seem that nothing can be decided in the national interest 

Varghese worked on that deal with his minister, the then Minister for Trade and Investment, Andrew Robb.  That Robb agreed to Chinese workers effectively taking the place of local workers on Australian construction sites, in order to get the deal done, says much of Robb's incompetence. That he then went on to work for the PLA linked Landbridge says much about his loyalties. 

That ordinary student politics at UQ  can be seen to harm UQ's  business relationship with China provides further evidence that the ChAFTA was a bad deal to begin with. That Varghese finds himself in a position where he has to deal with the consequences of his work is poetic. He must not however be allowed to use his position to defend his legacy, and in the process ruin the tradition we have in Australian universities of open and vigorous debate, no matter how unruly or offensive it may seem. 
Varghese must go,and Pavlou be provded all the backing he needs to ensure that the perpetrators of the so-called "disciplinary action" against him are removed from the tertiary education system.

END 

TO BE READ WITH 

Peter Varghese has been wrong about Iran, jihadis in SEA, and now China: Australia's national interest better served by the activism of UQ student Drew Pavlou, not UQ Chancellor Peter Varghese. Australians should seek Varghese's removal as UQ Chancellor