University chancellors nudged on uni free speech by Alan Tudge

University chancellors will be pushed to speed up the adoption of a model free speech code after only nine institutions fully embraced the shake-up.

Former Deakin University vice-chancellor Sally Walker.

University chancellors will be pushed to speed up the adoption of a model free speech code after only nine institutions fully embraced the shake-up as federal Education Minister Alan Tudge makes academic freedom a top priority for 2021.

Former Deakin University vice-chancellor Sally Walker — the author of a scathing review into the higher education sector’s failure to implement the free speech code late last year — will be brought in by the government to talk to the University Chancellors Council on how they can protect free speech.

The Australian also can reveal Professor Walker will provide each university with a free speech report card, after she found last year that 16 out of 42 universities had failed to make any progress in adopting the freedom charter proposed by former federal chief justice Robert French.

Mr Tudge told The Australian on Wednesday the cabinet was determined to see the model code fully adopted as soon as possible.

“Professor Walker will talk to the council and I have also been talking to university chancellors about fully implementing the French code … This is ultimately a responsibility for university councils,” he said.

“All the universities have agreed to adopt the code and we simply want to ensure it is fully adopted as soon as possible. I have a very strong view about this, as does the entire cabinet. Freedom of speech is fundamental to Australian universities.”

Professor Walker will meet university chancellors in coming weeks.

The chancellors include some of the most influential people in Australian society including Mr French at the University of Western Australia, former foreign minister Julie Bishop at the Australian National University, businessman David Gonski at the University of NSW, Commonwealth Bank chairwoman Catherine Livingstone at the University of Technology Sydney, and former Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade head Peter Varghese at the University of Queensland.

Universities have been embroiled in numerous free speech controversies, from protests against writer Bettina Arndt’s university speaking tour on campus rape to accusations higher education executives have suppressed criticism of China on campus. The government is still committed to keeping the French code voluntary.

Academic and government sources have told The Australian that the commonwealth and university chancellors want the chancellors to play a bigger role in driving changes in campus and academic culture.

Late last year, the chancellors pushed for a full-scope review of the sector’s peak body, Universities Australia, as the chancellors grew frustrated at a string of policy losses in Canberra during the coronavirus pandemic.

ANU, UNSW, and Monash University are among the universities that have made no progress to implement the code.

Spokespeople for ANU and Monash told The Australian on Wednesday that they were committed to aligning with the code and were still reviewing all their policies on free speech.

UNSW has repeatedly said that its independent free speech policy is more robust and more liberal than the French code.

Mr Tudge said he had positive feedback on the free speech code from chancellors and vice-chancellors, and Professor Walker will now go to individual universities to advise them how to pick up their implementation of the code.

“When I’ve spoken to VCs who have implemented the code, they’ve all said it took a bit of time but the sky did not fall in,” Mr Tudge said.