State should butt out of our universities

IT IS true that the Australian National University is financed by this Parliament, but it is managed by a council that is, as far as possible, an independent body, on which we have a variety of people with a variety of experience. The words are those of Robert Menzies. He would surely be turning in his grave to know that his political descendants in the Victorian Coalition government are proposing a bill that will fundamentally undermine the independence of university councils.
The Baillieu government has introduced to Parliament the Education Legislation Amendment (Governance) Bill. Its primary purpose is to strip TAFE boards and university councils of their elected staff and student representatives. In the case of universities, it is remarkable that an allegedly ''conservative'' government would seek to destroy, in one fell swoop, centuries of constitutional tradition that protect universities from the heavy hand of state interference.
The government's changes to university governance arrangements not only remove elected representatives, they provide the state government with unprecedented ability to interfere in the running of universities. If passed, the bill will make it possible for a university council to consist of one council appointee, the chancellor, vice-chancellor and head of academic board and seven government appointees. In other words, the government could capture control of the university's governance. Read More...