Andrew William Hastie (born 30 September 1982) is an Australian politician and former military officer currently serving as the shadow minister for defence.

[7][5] 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 the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.

[16] In July 2010, Hastie was assigned to 1 SAS Squadron in May 2012 which was deployed to Port Moresby to support the Papua New Guinea Defence Force during a general election.

[17] During a battle in Zabul, some members of Hastie's SASR troop severed the hands of deceased Taliban soldiers, ostensibly for the purposes of conducting biometric testing.

Having won the Liberal Party pre-selection,[23] Hastie launched his campaign in the electorate with support from Mathias Cormann and Julie Bishop, but was met with media criticism about the "severed hands" incident and his family's religious beliefs.

[24][25] Hastie won 55.26% of votes under the two-party-preferred system, making him the 10th Federal Member for Canning, defeating Labor candidate Matt Keogh.

[31] Hastie has opposed dredging and the development of the Mandurah Estuary for a 300-berth marina,[32] citing the lack of grassroots interest as well as environmental and possible geo-strategic concerns.

The piece was criticised by the Chinese Embassy in Australia, who denounced the remarks as reflecting a "Cold War mentality",[36][37] while Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan accused Hastie of "threatening WA jobs with extreme and inflammatory language.

"[38] Conversely, Hastie received praise from fellow Liberal MPs Dave Sharma and Peter Dutton, and Professor Clive Hamilton.

"[42] In May 2020, Hastie was one of 20 Australian politicians to sign a letter condemning the "comprehensive assault on [Hong Kong's] autonomy, rule of law and fundamental freedoms", in response to a "new legal framework and enforcement mechanism".

[47][48] On 4 June 2020, the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, Hastie joined a group of nineteen other politicians from eight countries and the European Parliament to form the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China.

"[60] An ABC analyst noted that Chau Chak Wing was, at that time, in court proceedings against Nine media for defamation, and that Hastie acted "because he has become sincerely worried about the influence of China on Australian institutions and politics.

"[61] Arguing in favour of "the sovereignty of local communities to make decisions about how they conserve and develop their environment", Hastie opposed the dredging of The Point Grey Marina but supported the investment of $3 million by the Environment Restoration Fund to protect Carnaby's black cockatoo, a native bird endemic to Southwest Australia and currently listed as endangered due to loss of habitat.

[63] His concerns regarding Australia maintaining its sovereignty in the face of China's rising power in the region led him to form the Parliamentary Friends of Democracy with Labor senator Kimberley Kitching.

[citation needed] Hastie has publicly opposed the Paris Agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the National Energy Guarantee.

Their first date was "watching then-president George W. Bush walk from the Oval Office across the lawns of the White House to be whisked away in the Marine One helicopter.