◆ ACADEMIC FREEDOM
Academic freedom and (free?) speech After two reviews into academic freedom, the Government is seeking to change its definition in law. Yet NTEU believes that the only way to guarantee individual rights is through strong clauses within Enterprise Agreements. French Review In November 2018, the then Minister for Education, Dan Tehan, announced that the Hon Robert French, former Chief Justice of the High Court, would undertake an independent review into freedom of speech in higher education. While Justice French’s very comprehensive review published in March 2019 concluded that there was no crisis in free speech at Australian universities, he did nonetheless make a number of important recommendations including some changes to the current wording of the academic freedom provisions in the Higher Education Support Act 2003, and that universities adopt a voluntary umbrella
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code which would clarify the importance of academic freedom in the plethora of university polices, such as codes of conduct, that weaken the application of academic freedom.
Walker Review At the end of 2019, all Australian universities agreed that within a year they would implement ‘the French Code’. Apparently, unhappy with progress, in August 2020 Minister Tehan asked Emeritus Professor Sally Walker AM to review the implementation of a Model Code which universities had agreed to by the end of 2020. Professor Walker’s report, published in December 2020, finds that a considera-
Paul Kniest, NTEU
Kelly Thomas, NTEU
Director (Policy & Research)
Senior Legal Officer
ADVOCATE VOL. 28 NO. 1 ◆ MARCH 2021