Message from the Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Peter Høj
UQ’s continued commitment to freedom of speech
Published 17 July 2020
It would be fair to say that some staff, students and alumni have written to the University questioning whether our engagements with China are influencing our commitment to freedom of speech.
I am writing to you to confirm UQ's commitment to freedom of speech and provide you with our perspective on these matters.
Freedom of speech
Let me be absolutely clear, freedom of speech is of utmost importance to UQ and consistent with both our vision of knowledge leadership for a better world and our values. It has been fiercely protected by staff and students for decades – exemplified by demonstrations against the Vietnam War in the 1960s and the 1971 anti-apartheid protests.
As part of our commitment to upholding freedom of speech at UQ, Senate approved the UQ Model Code for the Protection of Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom on 25 February 2020. This followed discussions at the Academic Board meeting in December 2018 and Academic Board input into the draft principles at the December 2019 meeting. Our model code has been developed having regard to the principles articulated in the model code put forward by the Honourable Robert French AC, a former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia.
At UQ, we live and breathe an ongoing commitment to the protection and promotion of free speech every day. It is evident through our diversity of teaching – from Western Civilisation to Refugees, Asylum Seekers and the Law. We have seen on-campus protests to save the Schonell Theatre, to keep ‘Ramsay’ out of UQ, to make UQ fossil free and, just last month, to oppose the federal government’s proposed changes to student fees. There have also been rallies in support of the Hong Kong protests, a film screening of China’s Artful Dissident and a Q&A with the central character, and guest lecturers speaking on a range of topics including about China's alleged influence in Australian universities. At the same time we also came to an agreement with the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation and are now offering new majors in ‘Western Civilisation’ .
When I was a student (ok, it was a while ago), I was actively involved in demonstrations both on and off campus including arguing for a switch to renewable energy solutions following the 1973 oil crisis. These experiences have driven my vision for UQ to be a leader in renewable energy. The official opening this week of our 64 megawatt Warwick Solar Farm has enabled us to be the first major university to offset our electricity use through our own renewable energy. I expect many of you have similar stories, although perhaps more recent.
By championing causes, staff and students can create change for the betterment of people, the environment and the economy.
I truly believe that as a University, we all have an obligation to actively defend respectful and lawful freedom of speech, even on matters that we may not agree on.
Engagement with China
Today, China is Australia’s biggest trading partner – accounting for more than 36 per cent of our exports, with education in the top four.
While UQ does not derive as much revenue from Chinese student fees as several other Group of Eight universities, it does account for approximately 20 per cent of our revenue. It also serves to create economic activity outside our universities (London Economics report). After the US and UK, China is also our third largest research partner.
UQ is a global top-50 university. Revenue from international students and engagements has enabled UQ to make the investment needed in our research, teaching and infrastructure for the benefit of our domestic students, our economy and Australia.
Such benefits are exemplified by our accelerated work on the UQ COVID-19 vaccine. Earlier this week we commenced phase 1 clinical trials in Brisbane and, in June, we signed a significant agreement with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI) and Australia’s largest biotechnology company CSL to manufacture the vaccine, if successful, in Melbourne. There is a nice parallel here with the partnership between UQ and CSL, which more than a decade ago facilitated the delivery to the Australian public of the cervical cancer vaccine (Gardasil) developed by Professor Ian Frazer and Dr Jian Zhou.
I want to make a point here. Yes, we have long-standing and productive relationships with China – as we do with many other nations – this is something we worked hard and carefully to achieve. However, this does not mean that we are influenced in our decisions or in what we teach. We are not. Does it mean that freedom of speech is censored on our campuses? No.
What is true is that our engagements with China, which were once encouraged by government, are now seen by a growing number of people through a different lens and this shift could have significant implications for Australia’s economy.
As we confront the reality of a global recession, it is critical that we continue to engage with a multitude of countries and corporate entities in a clear-eyed way that does not compromise our values or our commitment to free speech.
UQ is also reflecting on how we engage to ensure our partnerships, both domestic and international, continue to benefit Australia and further protect our values. Examples include:
- Work has commenced reviewing our policies for compatibility with the UQ Model Code for the Protection of Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom.
- Provisions in our Confucius Institute and Ramsay Centre agreements that strengthen protection of our autonomy and academic freedom.
- The Confucius Institute agreement now provides that the Confucius Institute has no involvement in credit-bearing courses and UQ’s Confucius Institute staff are subject to Australian laws and UQ policies.
- A decision from our Senate that serving foreign government officials will no longer be offered honorary or adjunct positions (read here).
We also have a strategy, launched in 2018, to actively diversify our international income to ensure a sustainable financial position. This is mapped out in our Strategic Plan. The strategy includes diversifying the countries our international students come from and growing our international research partnerships across a range of countries. International engagements such as the annual UQ Latin American Colloquium, UQ Indian Institute of Technology Delhi Academy of Research, QUEX Institute with the University of Exeter and New Colombo Plan are examples of how we are working towards this.
By broadening our international engagements, we expand our network of ambassadors and also help UQ students to navigate an increasingly globalised and complex market.
I hope this information has helped provide clarity for you and the assurance that through our teaching and research we are staying true to both our vision of ‘knowledge leadership for a better world’ and to our values.
Who can speak on behalf of the University?
Published 20 November 2019
Students are free to express their personal views but not to represent themselves as official university spokespeople – even those elected by the student body to be a member of UQ’s Senate.
Among other things, doing so contravenes UQ's policies.
The University has written to student, Drew Pavlou, advising him, that even as an elected member of the UQ Senate from 1 January 2020, he does not have the authority to speak on behalf of the University. The University has directed Mr Pavlou to cease purporting to make statements on behalf of the University.
Is UQ committed to freedom of speech?
The events of recent months show that UQ is absolutely committed to freedom of speech. It is a fundamental tenet of any democracy and goes to the heart of the pursuit of truth, and therefore knowledge. The University is committed to the principles of academic freedom, freedom of expression and institutional autonomy, and we have robust systems to enable these principles.
The Australian Government commissioned an independent review into university freedom of speech led by Robert French, former Chief Justice of the High Court Chief of Australia, late last year. The report found that there was no freedom of speech ‘crisis’ on university campuses. UQ is part of the ongoing discussions regarding a free speech ‘model code’.
Bullying and intimidating behaviour, including hate speech, will not be tolerated at UQ. All staff and students are required to abide by our relevant conduct policies including our Student Charter and Code of Conduct.
