Debate – Glynn Davis

Censorship has a ‘chilling effect’ on freedom of speech

Glynn Davis, University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor

From the NTEU forum, ‘Toeing the Line’

“If academics stop tackling controversial topics for fear of losing funding, they surrender a key advantage of academic freedom – that academics take on the subjects too hot for others to handle.

In a political culture where politicians are punished for admitting policy failure, the incentives for rigorous program evaluation are weak. An informed public must rely on academics and others outside government to provide a truly independent analysis of government performance.”

Except from the speech. Watch the entire thing in the video above, or read more here.

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