Professor Scott’s opening statement
Thank you for the opportunity to speak before you today. We appreciate you accommodating us via videoconference. I will be brief as this is our second appearance before this committee.
As we have said previously, the University acknowledges that we did not get everything right in our response to the events on our campus following the October 7 attacks on Israel.
We are committed to listening – particularly to our Jewish students and staff – learning from local and international experience, and implementing any necessary changes.
Among our actions since then, three are worth calling out.
Firstly, a new Campus Access Policy was released for the second semester of 2024, with strict guidelines around protests and activities on our grounds. Following extensive consultation, a revised and improved policy will be introduced for Semester 1 this year;
Secondly, we launched a comprehensive review of our complaints handling process, with the results of that review to be announced in Semester 1 but with several important improvements to the process already implemented; and
Thirdly, the University Senate commissioned the independent review by Bruce Hodgkinson SC to test whether our policies, practices and protocols are fit-for-purpose to ensure a safe and welcoming campus for all our students and staff, while also protecting our commitment to free speech and academic freedom.
Mr Hodgkinson’s 15 recommendations have been endorsed in principle by the University Senate, and the University executive has now been tasked with consulting the University community and determining how these recommendations will be implemented.
As part of that process, we emailed staff and students last Thursday inviting feedback on revisions to five key policies, including those relating to the use of flags and promotional materials on campus, social media and public commentary.
Mr Hodgkinson’s recommendation to introduce a new ‘civility rule’ is still under consideration and will be open to consultation at a later date.
Finally, it is worth noting that we have again increased security on campus in response to the horrific antisemitic attacks we have seen in Melbourne and Sydney in recent months. We utterly condemn those attacks and continue to work closely with Jewish groups to keep our community safe.
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