2025-08-19
Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens and Higher Education spokesperson, and Laura Nuttall MLA, ACT Greens spokesperson for Education, have reiterated calls for ANU Vice-Chancellor Bishop and Chancellor Bell to resign and called on Minister Clare to intervene if needed.
Bishop and Bell have been embroiled in a litany of scandals, from alleged financial mismanagement, staff no-confidence votes, and now devastating allegations of bullying and intimidation. ANU is due to provide a self-assurance report to TEQSA today, and the Greens call on this report to be made public immediately.
Quotes attributable to Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Leader of the Greens and spokesperson for Higher Education:
“Enough is enough. The leadership crisis at the ANU has gone on far too long, and staff, students and the wider community are paying the price. Chancellor Bishop and Vice-Chancellor Bell must go.
“Instead of listening to staff and students, ANU splashes cash on corporate PR consultants. But you can’t rebrand or spin your way out of bad governance.
“ANU’s leadership cries poor to cut jobs, yet finds millions for consultants and expenses. Austerity for workers, indulgence for management.
“Trust has been shattered. Staff and students have made their position crystal clear: this leadership is no longer fit for purpose.
“The harrowing testimony of Dr Liz Allen and her colleagues should shock this government into action.
“The Education Minister must act to restore confidence, end the culture of secrecy and fear, and put students and staff back at the heart of ANU’s governance. This is our national university and the government cannot stand by while it is run into the ground and lives are ruined in the process.”
Quotes attributable to Laura Nuttall MLA, ACT Greens spokesperson for Education:
“Having been at rallies week-after-week over the last few months, I’ve heard loud and clear the brutal toll this crisis has taken on staff and students alike.
“Real change needed to come a long time ago. The 95% no confidence motion in the University’s leadership should have been a wake up call for the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor. Instead, the cuts of jobs and even whole departments have continued, leaving staff uncertain at best and unemployed at worst.
“If the ANU is confident that their approach is fair on staff and students, and while they continue to receive significant public funding, they should have no problems releasing their self-assurance report publicly.
“Right now, the university needs to move forward not in the interests of profit but in line with a vision set by staff and students that make the ANU community.”