Clive Hamilton, who has written a book on Chinese Communist Party influence. Credit:Rohan Thomson

Today there are an estimated 1.2 million people living in Australia who have Chinese ancestry (of which I am one). Many would agree that old prejudices against Chinese have largely given way to general acceptance of Chinese-Australians.

Yet, ongoing debates make clear there is growing discomfort about the Chinese presence in Australia. In his recently published book Silent Invasion, Clive Hamilton argues the People’s Republic of China is conducting a campaign designed to erode Australian sovereignty and to undermine our independence as a nation. This campaign, according to Hamilton, is ‘'being perpetrated and shaped by a complex system of influence and control overseen by agencies serving the Chinese Communist Party'’.

There has been enormous heat in our public debate about Chinese influence. It is time to bring down the temperature. If we are not careful, we will run the risk of setting fire to our multicultural harmony.

Let me make one thing clear. I am not in any way downplaying the seriousness of concerns that have been raised, both from inside and outside government, about foreign interference. They must be taken seriously. In our liberal democracy, there should – and there must – be debate about matters affecting the integrity of our democracy and the sovereignty of our nation-state.