Senator Roberts has called on the Government to suspend funding to the University of Queensland if it continues to be an agent for the Chinese Communist Party.

Senator Roberts stated, “The recent expulsion of a fourth-year philosophy student, based on his outspoken views against China, has exposed the influence of a communist dictatorship on an Australian university.” 

“This is another example of the recent worrying trend at Australian universities that is curtailing free speech and promoting left-wing ideology,” Senator Roberts said.

The University of Queensland is estimated to have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and hired top tier legal and consulting firms in pursuit against the outspoken student.  The vast majority of the 186-page dossier of allegations by the University against the student has been labelled absurdly trivial and borderline hysterical.

“This is a classical David versus Goliath scenario and the University of Queensland, hiding behind the purse strings of the Chinese Communist Party, has smashed our Australian value of free speech.”

The University of Queensland received $989 million in government funding in 2018 and today receives between 20-30% of its income from Chinese students. 

Senator Roberts added, “UQ needs to remember where the bulk of their funding comes from and they need to assure the Australian taxpayer that they are an Australian university, and not an overseas agent of the Communist Party.”

“This is Australia; we are a free and democratic nation, and we will not be bullied in our own country nor in our universities by the Chinese Communist Party.”