Key Highlights:
“..research is not research if its outcomes are dictated.”
“..history has shown time and again that innovation cannot be predetermined.”
“…political vetoes hurt students just as deeply. More importantly, they take away the students’ sense of hope for a brighter future when they see their role models lose the jobs they love.”
“political interference has a disproportionate impact on Indigenous research and academics, thus constituting a blatant example of a culturally disrespectful approach.”
We believe that there should be a necessary degree of political oversight in establishing the ARC and in periodically reviewing its operation, merit decisions ought to be free from political interference and be solely based on academic criteria if Australia is to improve its standing as a knowledge-economy on the world stage.
As a result, we fully support the proposed amendments contained in subsections 51(1), 51(2) and 52(4) of the Australian Research Council Amendment (Ensuring Research Independence) Bill 2018.
Public Universities Australia
PUA’s full submission here