In all the commotion around China in recent days, the true importance of Andrew Hastie's speech in Parliament has been lost. Hastie was defending free speech against Beijing’s use of “lawfare”.

Hastie noted that Chinese-Australian billionaire Chau Chak Wing was suing Australian media outlets for reporting allegations that he acts on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party and was the person behind the bribing of the UN official. The MP said he was speaking up under the protection of parliamentary privilege because defamation actions against major media outlets, including Fairfax Media, are having a chilling effect on the free press.

Andrew Hastie was using parliamentary privilege to strike a blow for free speech. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Hastie told Parliament that the CCP is working covertly to influence public debates in Australia and that any attempt to silence the media through defamation actions “cannot stand”. Reinforcing the message on Thursday, ASIO chief Duncan Lewis warned parliamentarians that foreign actors are secretly influencing and shaping the public debate in this country.

Last November I experienced this chilling effect personally. The original publisher of my book exposing the CCP’s influence activities pulled out citing its fear of vexatious litigation sponsored by Beijing. Chau’s legal actions against Fairfax and the ABC were at the centre of the company’s assessment. Other publishers shunned the book for the same reason.