Andrew Hastie

When the family moved to the inner west of Sydney, Hastie began his primary education at Ashbury Public School.[4] From year 5 he attended The Scots College[5] in Sydney, completing his Higher School Certificate in 2000. Intending to become a journalist, Hastie began a Bachelor of Arts in History, Politics and Philosophy at the Kensington Campus of University of New South Wales in 2001, and also joined the University of New South Wales Regiment as a part-time reservist.

Hastie in Afghanistan at the rear of an ASLAV Type 1

Hastie joined the Australian Army full-time, but completed his second year at the Kensington Campus in 2002 before transferring to the University of New South Wales at Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra in 2003. He completed his bachelor's degree in 2004 and honours in 2005, where his final thesis examined Charles Bean's official history of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.

Hastie went on to officer training at Royal Military College, Duntroon in 2006,[6] where he met his political mentor John Anderson.[7] In 2007, Hastie completed the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs U.S. Foreign Policy Summer Program in Washington, D.C.

Hastie began his military career as an officer cadet in 2001. His officer training was completed at Duntroon in 2006, and was commissioned as lieutenant from December.[8] He was posted in 2007 with 2nd Cavalry Regiment of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps, based in Palmerston, Northern Territory. Hastie commanded a cavalry troop in 2008, before it was deployed in Afghanistan the following year.

Hastie first deployed to Afghanistan with Mentoring Task Force Two where he commanded a troop of Australian Light Armoured Vehicles. The troop's armoured operations began at the start of the fighting season in May 2009, concluding in February 2010. In an extensive report on the mission, known as Operation Falcon's Talon, Colonel Connolly wrote that the goal of the Australian forces was "to clear and dominate the [Mirabad Valley]."[9] Hastie successfully completed the Special Air Service Regiment Selection Course and was assigned to 1 SAS Squadron in May 2012 and was deployed to Port Moresby to support the Papua New Guinea Defence Force during a general election.[10]

From February to July 2013, Hastie was deployed to Afghanistan as an SASR officer with Special Operations Task Group Rotation XIX, largely targeting Taliban forces in partnership with other Afghan forces.[11] It has also since been publicly acknowledged that some members of Hastie's SASR troop severed the hands of killed Taliban fighters, for the purposes of conducting biometric testing. After witnessing this practice, Hastie ordered his unit to not sever any more hands. An inquiry later found that Australian troops in Afghanistan had not been explicitly instructed about whether the collection of body parts for biometric testing was acceptable. New guidelines were quickly put in place emphasizing that “the mutilation and otherwise maltreatment of human remains” is not permitted.[12] His unit was awarded a Meritorious Unit Citation in the 2015 Australia Day honours.[13]

Hastie was deployed in 2014 and 2015 to an intelligence role in the Middle East-based role countering ISIL as an Operations Officer for Operation Gallant Phoenix.[14][15][4] Hastie resigned his commission from the ADF in August 2015 after announcing his candidature to run as the Member for Canning in the House of Representatives.[16]

The seat of Canning became vacant by the death in office of the Liberal member, Don Randall, triggering the 2015 Canning by-election. Having won the Liberal Party pre-selection,[18] Hastie launched his campaign in the electorate with support from Mathias Cormann and Julie Bishop, but was met with media criticism about the "severed hands" incident and his family's religious beliefs.[19][20]

Hastie won 55.26% of votes under the two-party-preferred system, making him the 10th Federal Member for Canning, defeating Labor candidate Matt Keogh. He joined the government of Malcolm Turnbull who had himself become Prime Minister of Australia a week before the by-election. Hastie gave his first speech on 13 October 2015.[21]

Hastie stood again for the division of Canning for the 2016 Australian federal election, winning 56.79% of the votes under the Two-party-preferred vote against Labor opposition candidate Barry Winmar, moving his seat from being "marginal" to "fairly safe" according to the Australian Electoral Commission.[22]

Hastie with Anthony Byrne (left), Labor MP and Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.

Hastie was appointed to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security in September 2016, and chaired the committee from February 2017 until December 2020, which receives briefings from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia), Australian Signals Directorate and Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.[23][24][25]

During the August 2018 Liberal Party leadership spills, Hastie publicly supported a change in the party leadership.[26] Scott Morrison was elected leader of the Liberal Party, becoming Prime Minister of Australia.

In his electorate, Hastie supported striking Alcoa Australia workers, organised by the Australian Workers' Union. Hastie said he supported the strikers because "energy production in Australia is too expensive and it is hurting industry, workers, seniors and families."[27]

In the 2019 Australian federal election, held on 18 May, Hastie ran for re-election and won 61.83% of the two-party-preferred vote against the Australian Labor Party's candidate Mellisa Teede. Hastie spoke in 45 debates in 2019, above average according to Open Australia, mostly regarding national security matters.[28]

Hastie has opposed dredging and the development of the Mandurah Estuary for a 300-berth marina,[29] citing the lack of grassroots interest as well as environmental and possible geo-strategic concerns. He strongly supports the AUD22 million foreshore development project, allocating AUD7 million in federal funds, towards a new civic square, convention centre, a large-scale adventure play area and an ecotourism hub.[30]

Hastie is reported to be a witness into Australian armed forces war crimes investigations.[31]

On 22 December 2020, Morrison appointed Hastie assistant defence minister.[32]

Hastie and James Paterson media release concerning being disallowed entry into China.

In August 2019 Hastie wrote an Op-ed column, "We Must See China with Clear Eyes"[33] for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers, where he stated that "Communist China", rather than Islamic terrorism, would be the real security concern of the 21st century. The piece was criticised by the Chinese Embassy in Australia, who denounced the remarks as reflecting a "Cold War mentality",[34][35] while Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan accused Hastie of "threatening WA jobs with extreme and inflammatory language."[36] Conversely, Hastie received public support from fellow Liberal MPs Dave Sharma and Peter Dutton, and Professor Clive Hamilton.[37][38][39]

The diplomatic fallout was prompt. Hastie had been invited on a study trip with several colleagues to China with the independent think tank China Matters. However the Chinese embassy announced “that at this time Mr Hastie and Senator Paterson are not welcome" unless they "genuinely repent and redress their mistakes."[40] This snub was part of a wider activity of Overseas censorship of Chinese issues by the Communist Party of China and had the effect of making Australians more aware of CCP attempts to control Australians, with Hastie later saying "That press statement did all the work for us."[18] Hastie's warnings about Chinese abuses of human rights and interference with sovereign nations appeared to be further vindicated when newspapers released 400 pages of Chinese documents[41] on the workings of internment camps in Xinjiang, shortly followed by the apparent defection of a young Chinese spy with information in connection with a Chinese Australian, Nick Zhao[42] who was funded by Chinese interests to run for parliament, and was later found dead in a hotel room. As a further coincidence, in the weeks following publication, authorities in Hong Kong began arresting leaders of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, a movement Hastie has strongly supported. By raising concerns about foreign interference, the opinion piece has been seen as a "threshold",[43] with other commentators predicting that Hastie's concerns "will dominate the political agenda",[44] having been discussed in the pages of global newspapers such as Haaretz,[45] The Times[46] and The New York Times.[47] When interviewed by The Washington Post six months after his op-ed, Hastie said that while he had initially experienced ridicule, the "debate has shifted" about China intimidating democratic nations.[48]

In May 2020, Hastie was one of 20 Australian politicians to sign a letter condemning the "comprehensive assault on the city's autonomy, rule of law and fundamental freedoms", in response to a "new legal framework and enforcement mechanism to ensure national security in Hong Kong" by the National People's Congress of China.[49][50][51]

Hastie was one of a number of backbenchers who pushed for added restrictions on foreign investment into Australian companies during this time. Other supporters included Labor's Anthony Byrne and Kimberley Kitching then coalition MPs Dave Sharma, Tim Wilson, James Paterson, Alex Antic and Amanda Stoker.[52] However, Hastie went further, arguing that such purchases are simply part of a wider arsenal of political warfare currently conducted by the Chinese Communist Party.[53][54] By late April 2020 Hastie was arguing that CCP Actions in Australia were actively prosecuting political warfare, using economic and diplomatic channels.

On 4 June 2020, the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, Hastie joined a group of 19 MPs from eight countries and the European Parliament to form the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China. Hastie was invited to co-chair the Australian arm of the alliance with Senator Kimberley Kitching.

At the time the foreign interference inquiry was announced, it emerged that both Hastie and his family had been made subject to foreign intelligence assessments, conducted by Shenzhen Zhenhua Data. The database leak revealed that extensive information on Mike Cannon-Brookes, Arthur Sinodinos, Joe Hockey and Scott Morrison and their families has also been collected.[55][56]