On the evening of March 16, the Australian Senate voted to pass a new piece of legislation that several senators said would provide stronger protection for academic and free speech in colleges and universities.
The new legislation, The Higher Education Support Amendment (Freedom of Speech) Bill 2020, amends the Higher The Higher Education Support Amendment (Freedom of Speech) Bill 2020 amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to clearly define the concept of “academic freedom” by replacing the terms “free intellectual inquiry” with “freedom of speech” and “academic freedom”. The Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA) was amended by the Higher Education Support Act 2003, which clearly defines the concept of “academic freedom” and replaces “free intellectual inquiry” with “freedom of speech” and “academic freedom” to strengthen the protection of academic and free speech in higher education.
Background of the legislation
In August, the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney bowed to protests from Chinese students and removed a tweet by Elaine Pearson, an adjunct law lecturer at the university, criticizing the Chinese Communist Party‘s crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong.
Last May, University of Queensland (UQ) student Drew Pavlou was suspended by the university for criticizing the Chinese Communist Party’s infiltration of Australian universities and supporting the Hong Kong democracy movement.
In 2018, Peter Ridd, a physics professor at James Cook University (JCU), was fired for publicly criticizing the university over the science of climate change.
In the wake of several incidents involving free speech in higher education, then federal Education Minister Dan Tehan commissioned former High Court Chief Justice Robert French to develop a voluntary code of free speech for universities to guide amendments to the old law.
Federal Education Minister: Freedom of expression is a fundamental principle
On March 16, Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge issued a press release stating that it is vital to enshrine freedom of expression in law.
On the same day, Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge issued a press release stating that it is vital to enshrine freedom of expression in law.
Tudge said universities, as places where critical thinking, debate and challenging ideas are encouraged, must be places where freedom of speech is protected, even if what is said may be unpopular or challenging.
“The passage of this bill requires universities to uphold these fundamental principles on campuses across Australia” and “encourages universities to promote academic freedom and freedom of expression for students and staff,” Taghi said.
“Freedom of expression is a fundamental principle on our university campuses, and it should not be difficult for universities to ensure that,” he said.
Universities should be bastions of free speech
Sen. Paul Scarr (D-N.Y.) said the “unfettered search for truth” is at the heart of the university’s mission. He said the principle that universities need to be free from any subjugation to the will of donors or powerful stakeholders in free intellectual inquiry must be absolutely embedded in the Culture of all our universities.
He also said that it is not enough for universities to value academic, free speech, but that academic freedom must be a defining value of universities, and that legitimate free speech is the supreme value.
Sen. Amanda Stoker (D-Mass.) said that over the past decade we have seen some disturbing events and anti-free speech policies infiltrate our college campuses. We have seen James Cook University scholar Professor Reid fired for challenging other colleagues’ professional research; we have also seen a quiz question withdrawn because it offended an international student from China. It is of grave concern that universities, which are meant to be institutions that foster debate, have instead become hotbeds of censorship.
Senator Amanda Stoker (D-CA) spoke in support of the amendment. (Screenshot from video of parliamentary meeting)
In response to the use of terms like “academic standards” and “professional standards” by some universities in an attempt to restrict speech only in “good faith,” Stoker said These policies leave room for the exercise of restrictions on free speech or academic freedom, and as a result, academic freedom exists in name only.
Sen. Matthew O’Sullivan (D-CA) said the bill is important and will provide stronger protections for academic and free speech at institutions of higher education.
Senator Matthew O’Sullivan (D-CA) said the bill would provide stronger protections for academic freedom and free speech at universities. (Screenshot from video of the legislative session)
He said there is a growing public Perception that universities are increasingly advocating their own version of free speech to make room for minority voices. However, this advocacy of free speech seems to be very, very selective. While stifling conservative views, religious groups, science professors, history scholars, medical experts and many others who hold traditional views seem to be the targets of a growing radical left-wing culture on college campuses.
“In some cases, the research papers of these scholars have been denied publication because their findings support a conservative worldview.”
He said universities should be bastions of free speech, not fomenting a culture of censorship and intolerance of opposing viewpoints.
He believes the bill will ensure that current university faculty, staff, and students are free to speak out in their areas of scholarship and learning without restriction or fear of academic bias or suppression by the dominant university culture.
Senator Gerald Rennick (D-CA) said that universities were once bastions of freedom of thought and speech, and once drove political and social discourse. Now, under a culture of abolition, the far left is trying to shut down debate under the guise of security and fear of offending people.
Senator Gerald Rennick (D-CA), in expressing support for the bill, said that universities used to be bastions of freedom of thought and expression. (Screenshot from a video of a parliamentary meeting)
Rennick said a 2019 survey of how students view the current state of free speech at universities found that 41 percent of students believe they are sometimes unable to express their opinions in college.
Renick believes the bill, which enshrines the principle of free speech in law, will become an important part of the lives of academic staff and students.
Professor Reid, who is fighting a lawsuit against James Cook University in the High Court, said in a Facebook post on the 16th that the legislation is an important step in the fight to stop universities from trampling on academic freedom of expression.
He said James Cook University will try to prove that what it is doing is legal, but it will never be able to prove that it is right or proper. If James Cook wins in the High Court, it will be a hypocritical “victory” at best, and it will further discredit itself by going against the spirit of the new legislation and public expectations.
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