NTEU opening statement to the Senate FDAT Inquiry into the Commonwealth Treaty Making Process

By Courtney Sloane (NTEU National Office). Thank you for the invitation to present at these public hearings, and I wish to begin by acknowledging the Ngunnawal people, the traditional owners of the country upon which we are meeting today.
I will use this opportunity to make some opening remarks to note that the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU)’s interest in this topic is both general as a union with a solid record in speaking out on matters of democratic governance, civil liberties and human rights, and specific in that treaties can have both intended and unintended impacts upon higher education and research, and on labour rights which are of course of direct interest to our members. More...