Comments on: Forum and website launch successful

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:58:47 +0000

Did you ever think anything like this would be straight forward. You should know how these things work, it’s all about self preservation. The departments are out for themselves.

Academic freedom won’t be achieved while departments have their own agendas.

By: academic 1

academic 1 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:31:50 +0000

IT is interesting to note that while the University department was investigating Paul Mees and trawling through his history to build a case against him the same department was negotiating with the public transport authority for a major research contract!

The same public transport authority that wrote the letter asking for paul’s comments to be taken down from the web-site.

By: Freedom lover

Freedom lover — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:35:52 +0000

Unfortunately the circumstances surrounding DR Paul Mees’s leaving the University of Melbourne really bring into focus a threat that despite any claim the University or its Vice Chancellor may make about the need to be defend academic freedom by exercising it – academics at Melbourne will probably think twice about exercising any academic freedom.

Despite the review in the end dropping the case against Paul because of a technicality – the implication is that University might in future persecute staff who criticise or who whistleblow on issues of corruption perhaps especially if it concerns government. I hope I am wrong and I believe the NTEU needs to promote the opposite of what this case might leave the impression of for staff who go public.

It appears the University pursued Paul even though the Vice Chancellor had at an NTEU forum just made the lovely sounding pronouncement that the defense of academic freedom is achieved by exercising it.

We need to promote more exercising of academic freedom, we need to avoid the lazy administration cop out of not defending our staff in the face of supposed or assumed consequences of a criticism of government.

Easy to say i know and congratulations to Paul and otehrs for continuing to exercise.