With Beijing warning students that Australia is not a safe place to study universities need to speak up

Deakin U VC Iain Martin responded yesterday that Australia was a safe and multicultural society and, “with the reopening of our campuses now on the horizon, we look forward to welcoming new enrolments from students all around the world, including China.”

ANU Chancellor Julie Bishop, said much the same, “Canberra is one of the safest cities in a country widely regarded as one of the safest in the world. We look forward to continuing to welcome students from all over the world to ANU, to our community, to our campus and to our capital city.”

No, they will not have any impact on the Chinese government which is looking for maximum pressure for minimum effort – barley exports one week, international education the next.

But universities have to speak up. Assuming diplomacy will calm things down ignores the biggest risk in international relations, what Harold MacMillan is said to have called, “events.”  A decade back not-many attacks on Indian students, mainly in Melbourne, created a huge problem when the Indian Government responding to local political pressure, issued a travel warning.

When a former foreign minister decides it is time to speak-up it assuredly is.