The Debate
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Charter required to protect academic freedom
Prof. George Williams, Anthony Mason Professor at Law, UNSW
Academic freedom is essential to the work of Australian universities. Their role in educating students and advancing human knowledge depends upon academics and students working and learning in an environment in which they can freely exchange ideas, challenge conventional wisdom and debate controversial
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Paul Mees: Statement on controversy at University of Melbourne
Notes from NTEU Academic Freedom Forum, Aug 2008
I believe I am the second academic to have been officially punished by the University of Melbourne for making controversial public comments in that ...
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Glyn Davis: Censorship has a ‘chilling effect’ on freedom of speech
Glyn Davis, Vice-Chancellor, University of Melbourne
From an address to NTEU forum on academic freedom, Nov 2007
If academics stop tackling controversial topics for fear of losing funding, they surrender a key advantage of academic freedom – that academics take on the subjects too hot for others to handle.
In a political culture where politicians are punished for admitting policy failure, the incentives for rigorous program evaluation are weak. An informed public must rely on academics and others outside government to provide a truly independent analysis of government
