Senator James Paterson (Lib-Vic) is the new chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security

He takes over as Andrew Hastie, promoted to the executive.

This is an important appointment for universities just now given the committee’s current inquiry into foreign interference on campus and there was much in some media last night about Senator Paterson being a China hawk.  He’s not the only one, committee member Senator Abetz (Liberal Tasmania) gave university representatives a hard time over China links at a hearing of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade in October.

The new intel committee member, replacing Mr Hastie, is Cecilia Hammond (Lib-WA), the former VC of University of Notre Dame. Australia.