The National Tertiary Education Union has declared the resignation of University of Wollongong Chancellor Michael Still during a corruption inquiry into conflicts of interest highlights a governance disaster.<\/p>\n
The Independent Commission Against Corruption is mid-way through its investigation of the university, including the appointment of interim vice-chancellor John Dewar at the same time he was working for KordaMentha, the consultancy which won contracts to draw up job cut plans.<\/p>\n
Mr Still stood aside from his role as chancellor a month ago after ICAC hearings were announced, and on Friday quit effective immediately.<\/p>\n
NTEU NSW Division Secretary Vince Caughley said UOW staff had played a critical role in bringing serious concerns into the open.<\/p>\n
\u201cNTEU members at UOW have shown real courage in speaking out about what they have seen. Their voices, alongside the work of NTEU members across NSW, have helped shine a light on governance failures that have too often been kept behind closed doors,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NSW parliamentary inquiry into university governance, and the campaigning that led to it, have created a much stronger environment for staff to speak out when they witness serious conflicts of interest, improper conduct or the corruption of proper governance processes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is exactly what public universities need. Staff are often the first to see when something is going wrong, but too often they have been excluded from decision-making, ignored when they raise concerns, or expected to stay quiet while executive networks and consultants make decisions with profound consequences for their university communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ICAC inquiry must be able to do its work. But the events at UOW should also be a warning to the NSW Government that the problem is broader than one institution or one set of individuals.<\/p>\n
\u201cConsultants have become deeply embedded in university decision-making, often operating behind closed doors, with little transparency, little accountability and enormous influence over decisions affecting staff, students and communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cPublic universities cannot be run as private networks for executives and consultants. They are public institutions with a responsibility to serve students, staff and the people of NSW.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NSW Government must act to ensure our universities are free from corruption, undue consultant influence and weak governance practices. That means stronger transparency requirements, meaningful staff and student representation, genuine public accountability and clear limits on the role of private consulting firms in decisions that should be made in the public interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
NTEU General Secretary Dr Damien Cahill welcomed Mr Still\u2019s resignation..<\/p>\n
\u201cThe brazenness of what the ICAC has uncovered this week is gob-smacking,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe chancellor told a KordaMentha partner it was \u2018very likely\u2019 his firm would win work at the university while actively courting him to run the university on a salary of $1 million a year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NTEU consistently raised this egregious conflict of interest only to be told there was nothing to see here. Now even Professor Dewar has admitted to ICAC there was at least the potential of a perceived conflict of interest.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael Still quitting is a step towards healing the completely broken governance system at the University of Wollongong.<\/p>\n
\u201cStaff, students and the community have been betrayed by the highest levels of university management throughout this governance disaster. We eagerly await what else will come out of this much-needed ICAC investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
NTEU National President Dr Alison Barnes said there were sector-wide issues on display at UOW.<\/p>\n
\u201cAustralian universities\u2019 $1.8 billion consultancy addiction is at the heart of the damaging decisions that are putting public institutions in the hands of profit-hungry corporations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is exactly why the NTEU is campaigning for major governance reform at federal and state levels.<\/p>\n
\u201cUniversities need urgent reform if they are to be run like the institutions that staff, students and the community deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The National Tertiary Education Union has declared the resignation of University of Wollongong Chancellor Michael Still during a corruption inquiry into conflicts of interest highlights a governance disaster. The Independent Commission Against Corruption is mid-way through its investigation of the university, including the appointment of interim vice-chancellor John Dewar at the same time he was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[43,17,20],"tags":[],"formats":[],"dipi_cpt_category":[],"work_area":[],"class_list":["post-27400432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-university-governance-reform","category-media","category-uow"],"acf":[],"dsm_author":{"name":"Vince Caughley","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e9b3f2e373c10af80857d35c4fab45d728442851e6424df1e0c64a028a6a89e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","archive_link":"https:\/\/nsw.nteu.au\/council\/news\/author\/vcaughley\/","biodata":""},"dsm_categories":[{"term_name":"Uni Governance","term_id":43,"term_link":"https:\/\/nsw.nteu.au\/council\/news\/category\/university-governance-reform\/"},{"term_name":"Media Statement","term_id":17,"term_link":"https:\/\/nsw.nteu.au\/council\/news\/category\/media\/"},{"term_name":"UOW","term_id":20,"term_link":"https:\/\/nsw.nteu.au\/council\/news\/category\/branch-news\/uow\/"}],"dsm_attachment_categories":[],"dsm_featured_image":null,"dsm_comment_count":0,"yoast_head":"\n