NTEU ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND ANTI-TERRORISM LAWS SEMINAR
December 5, 2005
NTEU Seminar: Academic Freedom, Universities and the response to the new terror laws
The higher education section of Education International, the international union body to which NTEU is affiliated, will meet in Melbourne on December 7 and 8, 2005.
As part of this event, NTEU is organising a seminar on ‘Academic freedom, Universities and the response to the new terror laws’. The seminar will take place on December 6, from 12.30-5pm, at the FEU Building, 120 Clarendon Street, South Melbourne.
Many countries, including the UK and USA, have already introduced anti-terror legislation, with considerable consequences for universities and their staff. The measures being introduced by our Federal Government, including the Anti-Terror Bill 2005, also have serious implications for staff working in Australian universities.
The seminar will feature domestic and international speakers discussing the implications of the laws being proposed in Australia and the experience of similar measures overseas.
The draft agenda for the seminar is below:
12.30 – Registration
1.00 – Introduction: Dr Carolyn Allport, President, National Tertiary Education Union
1.10 – Panel 1: The international experience
- Steve Wharton, President Association of University Teachers: The UK Terrorism Act 2005 – Implications for academic freedom
- James Turk, Executive Director Canadian Association of University Teachers: Academic freedom in Canada and the United States post 9/11
- Associate Professor Rosli Mahat, University of Malaya: Academic Freedom and Internal Security in Malaysia
Chair: Sharan Burrow, President, Australian Council of Trade Unions and International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
Each speaker allocated 20 minutes followed by 20 minutes for questions and discussion
2.30 – Break: Light refreshments served
3.00 – Panel 2: The Australian situation
- Associate Professor Jenny Hocking, National Centre for Australian Studies, Monash University: The impact of already existing anti-terror measures on academic freedom and universities
- Joo-Cheong Tham, Law School Melbourne University: The Anti-Terrorism Bill 2005 – its impact on universities and academic freedom
- Professor George Williams, Director of the Gilbert and Tobin Centre for Public Law: Strategies to protect academic freedom in Australia and Internationally
Chair: Carolyn Allport
4.20 Break
4.30 General plenary discussion
5.15 – 5.45 Wine and hors d’oeuvres