2025-07-09
Both federal and territory governments must take urgent action to protect the integrity of higher education, as the Australian National University plows head first into reckless cuts to degrees and courses according to Greens Education Spokesperson Laura Nuttall.
Lines attributable to Greens Education Spokesperson, Laura Nuttall:
“The situation going on at the ANU right now has been bubbling away under the surface for some time now, and sooner or later governments are going to need to step up and defend our communities against corporate interests taking precedence over educational outcomes.
“It’s become crystal clear that the problem at ANU isn’t the staff, the students, or the departments—it’s the university’s leadership. They’re slashing costs wherever they can, and it’s quality of education that’s paying the price.
“For months now, students and staff have been calling out for Vice-Chancellor Genevieve Bell and the federal government to listen. Instead, they’ve been met with either staged photographs in the Canberra Times or radio silence.
“Enough is enough–I’m calling on the local Ministers for Education and Skills to step up and advocate to their federal colleagues for real action to stop the destruction happening at ANU, because our community is simply fed-up.
“This week, we learned the university is gutting the School of Music, a decades-old institution that serves thousands of students and is a cornerstone of life at the university for many working in the arts sector.
“This is despite the fact that in 2021, the ACT Government announced that they wanted Canberra to become ‘the arts capital of Australia’. There’s not much about this that screams ‘arts capital of Australia’ to me.
“The ANU isn’t just some university—it’s part of Canberra’s identity. People come here to study there, they stay to build their lives, and almost everyone in this city knows someone whose life has been shaped by it in some way.
“The fact is, this is a fundamental institution in our city, and it’s time the government treated it that way—not just with words, but with real action.
“I want to acknowledge the advocacy the NTEU has done pushing for better administration at the ANU, and also the work No Cuts at ANU is doing in getting students engaged against these cuts.
“Students and staff alike agree that what is happening is not in the best interests of the university community. We can’t afford to lose so much from a university that plays such a vital role in Canberra.
“I echo the calls of the groups who are on the ground and doing the work to show ANU administration that they demand better.”