Interim Vice-Chancellor Professor Rebekah Brown is in talks with CSO. Photo: ANU.
The ANU staff union is celebrating a victory on forced redundancies but is still calling for Chancellor Julie Bishop to join the former vice-chancellor in resigning.
Students opposed to the controversial Renew ANU program say the fight is far from over.
The university announced on Thursday (18 September) that it had dropped forced redundancies from its cost-saving measures to cut $250 million from its operating costs, but it would not be walking away from the rest of its change program.
Interim Vice-Chancellor Rebekah Brown told a town hall meeting of staff and students on Thursday morning that the ANU no longer needed any more involuntary redundancies to reach its savings target.
But five of the 13 structural change proposals remain on the table and are undergoing consultation.
National Tertiary Union ACT secretary Lachlan Clohesy said these five change proposals had initially proposed 105 involuntary job losses, “so it is a significant win for union members”.
Voluntary redundancies and natural attrition over time were still going to happen, but voluntary was a much preferable option to forced redundancies, Dr Clohesy said.
Ms Bishop remained in the union’s sights.
A union petition calling for a new Chancellor has been submitted to be listed on the agenda for the University Council’s next meeting.
“That’s been the NTEU’s position really since the end of last year at the start of the job cuts when Julie Bishop was reported in the media referring to new staff as ‘inefficiencies’, seeming to sort of blame them for their own job losses,” Dr Clohesy said.
Professor Brown told the meeting it wasn’t her call to ask Ms Bishop to step down – that was a matter for Council.
Dr Clohesy said it was understood that proposed school mergers as part of the College of Arts and Social Sciences were on hold in the short term and further discussions would be held with the ANU community.
There was some good news on the fate of the School of Music, with Professor Brown announcing the ANU was in talks with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra about its future, including alternative ways to incorporate performance studies into its offering.
“I’m really pleased to say that the dean and myself, and the dean’s leadership team, are in dialogue with Canberra Symphony Orchestra, asking questions about our region, our social licence and the potential for developing a 10-year plan,” she said.
But student group No More Cuts said the damage had already been done.
Co-convenor Lucy Chapman-Kelly said courses had been cut, tutorial sizes increased, staff sacked and performance subjects axed.
“Many students in the School of Music have already left due to these attacks,” she said.
“What is a ‘saved’ School of Music where students and staff have already abandoned ship?
“This experience isn’t limited to the School of Music, but has affected students and staff across the entire university.”
Dr Clohesy believed the ANU was now past the worst of it, but a lot of damage had been done to the university and its people, and that would take some time to heal.
“If this is possible today, it was possible two weeks ago,” he said.
“The only change has been the resignation of Professor Genevieve Bell. Today demonstrates that much of the pain and psychological damage of recent times was not necessary.”
Professor Brown also announced that a donation would keep the Australian National Dictionary Centre operating while the ANU worked to secure alternative long-term funding.
She said funds had also been found to support the Australian Dictionary of Biography while it sought alternative funding.
Ms Chapman-Kelly said students were not convinced by Thursday’s town hall, saying Renew ANU should be stopped in its tracks.
“We encourage all students and staff to continue the fight to reverse the cuts and stop Renew ANU because the fight is not over yet,” she said.
