Andrew Hastie
Andrew William Hastie is an Australian politician and former military officer. A member of the Liberal Party, he has been member of the Australian House of Representatives for the Western Australian electorate of Canning since 2015. Hastie was a troop commander in the Special Air Service Regiment prior to entering politics.
Hastie served as the Assistant Minister for Defence from 2020 to 2022, during the Morrison government. Following the 2022 election, he served as Shadow Minister Defence Industry and Shadow Minister Defence Personnel in the Dutton shadow ministry. He was Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security from 2017 to 2020.
Hastie was appointed Shadow Minister for Home Affairs in May 2025. He left the role in October 2025 after he exited the party's frontbench over internal policy disputes. His views have been described as right-wing populist to far-right, with strong stances against multiculturalism, immigration, abortion, LGBTQ rights, and the transition to net zero emissions in Australia.
Early life and education
Hastie's mother, Sue, was a primary school teacher for special needs children. His maternal grandmother Rose was a nurse and cared for Hastie's maternal grandfather Reginald, a war veteran. His father Peter was a church pastor in Wangaratta, Victoria; and later in the inner Sydney suburb of Ashfield, where he helped launch Australia's first Mandarin-speaking Presbyterian church.When the family moved to the inner west of Sydney, Hastie began his primary education at Ashbury Public School. From year 5 he attended The Scots College in Sydney, completing his Higher School Certificate in 2000. Intending to become a journalist, Hastie began a Bachelor of Arts in History, Politics and Philosophy at the Kensington Campus of University of New South Wales in 2001, and also joined the University of New South Wales Regiment as a part-time reservist.
Hastie completed his second year at the Kensington Campus in 2002 before transferring to the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra in 2003. He finished his bachelor's degree in 2004, then his honours year in 2005, where his final thesis examined Charles Bean's official history of Australia in World War I. Hastie went on to officer training at Royal Military College, Duntroon in 2006, where he met his political mentor John Anderson. In 2007, Hastie completed the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs U.S. Foreign Policy Summer Program in Washington, D.C. Hastie has also completed a Graduate Certificate in Business Economics through Harvard Extension School.
Military career
Hastie began his military career as an officer cadet in 2001. His officer training was completed at Duntroon in 2006, and he was commissioned as a lieutenant from December. He was posted in 2007 with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps, based in Palmerston, Northern Territory. Hastie commanded a cavalry troop in 2008, before it was deployed in Afghanistan the following year. Hastie was deployed to Afghanistan with Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force Two where he commanded a troop of Australian Light Armoured Vehicles. The troop's armoured operations began at the start of the fighting season in May 2009, concluding in February 2010.Special Air Service Regiment
In 2010 Hastie moved to Perth to prepare for the SAS Selection course. He began the course in July 2010 and was one of 30 who completed it out of 130 soldiers. The selection course was followed by a 18-month Reinforcement Cycle, during which a further 15 soldiers dropped out. In May 2012, he was deployed to Port Moresby to support the Papua New Guinea Defence Force during a general election.From February to July 2013, Hastie served in Afghanistan as a Troop Captain with Special Operations Task Group Rotation XIX, working primarily with Afghan partner forces to target the Taliban. During a battle in Zabul, some members of Hastie's SASR troop severed the hands of deceased Taliban soldiers He observed a severed hand and asked what was happening. Hastie afterwards ordered his unit to cease the practice, and the incident was reported to his commanding officer. During a later inquiry, a corporal gave evidence that they had severed the hands of their own accord as they didn't have time to retrieve biometric material and they needed to get back to their helicopters to leave. The inquiry found that Australian troops in Afghanistan had not been explicitly instructed whether the collection of body parts for biometric testing was acceptable.
Hastie was deployed in 2014 and 2015 to the Middle East for an intelligence role, serving as an Operations Officer for Operation Gallant Phoenix. He resigned from the Australian Defence Force in August 2015 after announcing his candidacy for the 2015 Canning by-election.
Political career
Turnbull government (2015–2018)
The seat of Canning became vacant by the death in office of the Liberal member, Don Randall, triggering the 2015 Canning by-election. Having won the Liberal Party pre-selection, Hastie campaigned with support from Mathias Cormann and Julie Bishop. During the campaign, he met with media criticism about his family's religious beliefs.Hastie won 55.26% of votes under the two-party-preferred system, defeating Labor candidate Matt Keogh. He joined the government of Malcolm Turnbull who had himself become Prime Minister of Australia a week before the by-election. Hastie gave his first speech on 13 October 2015. Hastie stood again for the division of Canning for the 2016 Australian federal election, winning 56.79% of the votes under the Two-party-preferred vote against Labor opposition candidate Barry Winmar, moving his seat from being "marginal" to "fairly safe" according to the Australian Electoral Commission. In September 2016 Hastie was appointed to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. He held the position of Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security from 2017 to 2020.
Morrison government (2018–2022)
During the August 2018 Liberal Party leadership spills, Hastie publicly supported a change in the party's leadership. Scott Morrison was subsequently elected leader of the Liberal Party, becoming Prime Minister of Australia. Hastie supported the striking Alcoa Australia workers in his electorate. He said he backed the strikers because "energy production in Australia is too expensive and it is hurting industry, workers, seniors and families."At the 2019 Australian federal election, Hastie ran for re‑election and secured 61.55% of the two‑party‑preferred vote against the Australian Labor Party's Mellisa Teede. According to OpenAustralia, Hastie participated in 45 parliamentary debates in 2019—above the parliamentary average—with most contributions relating to national security matters.
Hastie opposed dredging and the development of the Mandurah Estuary for a proposed 300‑berth marina, stating "We're up against a business taking direction from overseas without any long term interests in the safety, the security and the health of our local environment. The central question is whether or not local people have a say over the natural assets we are called to steward for future generations." He supported a $22 million foreshore development project, which received $7 million in federal funding, to deliver a new civic square, convention centre, large‑scale adventure play area and an ecotourism hub.
On 22 December 2020, Hastie was appointed Assistant Minister for Defence.
Opposition (2022–present)
The Liberal Party were defeated by the Labor Party in the 2022 federal election, relegating the party to opposition status. Hastie managed to retain his seat of Canning, winning 43.8% of first-preference votes and 53.59% of the two-party-preferred vote against Labor's Amanda Hunt. Hastie, however, saw a 7.79% swing against him at the election, making Canning marginal. Hastie served as the Shadow Minister Defence Industry and Shadow Minister Defence Personnel while the Liberals were in the opposition.Hastie said that prior to the 2025 Australian federal election polling in his seat which showed that Liberal party leader Peter Dutton "was leading Anthony Albanese in personal favourability, but there was a catch: only one in four voters knew who Peter Dutton was, and that he was vulnerable to Labor defining him". He further said that during the campaign, Labor used social media to make "savage personal attacks" against Dutton, despite a previous promise to be more respectful in politics. Writing for WAtoday, Hamish Hastie wrote that "In the face of Dutton's issues and an increasingly bad campaign, Hastie jettisoned mentions of nuclear power, the Liberal leader – and the Liberal Party itself – from much of his campaigning". He also made the decision to remove much of the Liberal branding from his shirts and billboards. Hastie was absent for much of the national campaign, remaining active in Canning. After the campaign he said "I focused on what mattered in a bad national campaign: my local community".
Hastie managed to avoid the national swing against the Liberals despite redistribution reducing his lead in Canning. He won 42.52% of first-preference votes and 56.55% of two-party preferred votes, a 5.35% swing against Labor's Jarrad Goold. The election saw heavy losses for the Liberals in metropolitan Australia; Hastie was one of the few Liberals in a metropolitan seat to record a swing in his favour, and the only Liberal from a Perth-based seat. On 9 May, Hastie gave an interview talking about the 2025 election, where he criticised the Liberal campaign and the party's reliance on ex-staffers, as well as the issue of Peter Dutton. Hastie attributed his success in Canning to avoiding discussing topics related to Dutton and nuclear energy, saying he "focused on what mattered in a bad national campaign: my local community."
On 28 May 2025, Hastie was appointed Shadow Minister for Home Affairs in the Ley shadow ministry. He resigned from the frontbench on 3 October 2025, bringing his tenure in the portfolio to an end. His resignation followed a letter from Ley which, he said, "made it clear that would not be involved in leading or developing our policy or strategy on immigration". Hastie stated that he "could not see how I could continue as the Shadow Home Affairs Minister and remain silent on immigration policy".