NTEU CALLS ON GOVERNMENT TO CLARIFY INCREASED TERROR MEASURES FOR UNIVERSITIES
26 April 2006
The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) on Wednesday called on the Federal Government to publicly release the details of any plan to bring universities and other tertiary institutions under an expanded export control system aimed at curbing activities that may assist terrorist groups in the development of weapons of mass destruction.
A report in today’s Australian newspaper states that the Government has already sent university heads a proposal to include academic conferences, research papers, seminars, and operational manuals in an expanded regime of export controls aimed at curbing the proliferation of WMDs.
The Government’s document also suggests asking academics to alert the Federal Government to any enrolment inquiries from students from countries suspected of having WMDs, and any requests from foreign nationals from certain countries to attend conferences and seminars on sensitive topics.
“We recognise that universities, like other organisations, have a responsibility to prevent the transfer of technology that is directly related to the creation of weapons of mass destruction under the existing export control system,” said NTEU President Dr Carolyn Allport. “This includes commercial items that have a direct military as well as civil use.”
“The Union is very concerned, however, by reports that the Government is proposing to extend the system of export controls from these goods to intangibles, including research, papers, seminars and conferences.”
“The proposal for such services to be included presents significant dangers for universities, their researchers and staff and for other tertiary institutions.”
“Restrictions on the distribution and exchange of knowledge risk creating a chilling effect on scientific debate.”
“This is particularly serious given that one of the Australian Government’s research priorities is ‘Safeguarding Australia’. “
“We call on the Federal Government to urgently clarify the details of any plans it may have to increase the scrutiny of the activities undertaken by universities.”
“As part of this, it is important that the Government clearly states how it intends to apply the export control system to such core activities of tertiary institutions like research.”
“The sector also needs to know how the Government will go about compiling a list of services that could fall under an expanded export control regime, and whether the list will be public.”
Information and Comment:
Dr Carolyn Allport, NTEU President: (03) 9254 1910
Andrew Nette, NTEU Policy and Research Coordinator: (03) 9254 1910