Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee, , 31:53 to 36:08
The committee discusses the abolition of the Higher Education Standards Panel and the need for ATEC to address workplace culture and accessibility for marginalized groups.
Topics: Education, Workplace culture
Speakers: Mehreen Faruqi, Paul Harris, Vicki Thomson, Distinguished Professor George Williams
>> Just going to your submission um this is a IU. You have noted that the bill would equate to an overall reduction in independence due to the integration of the higher education standards panel into a tech. Um and quite a few people have raised that concern with me. It's like seven associate professors or professors uh advising um TEXA on um standards uh and this bill basically abolishes that and it it's not clear like how this expertise is going to then be uh in a tech because there are no guardrails really to protect its expertise experience in independence. Um so what what kind of impact uh will this loss of independent expert advice have and again should there be an explicit amendment in this bill to ensure that the expertise is retained in some way shape or form in tech?
>> Yes, we would absolutely recommend that. Um we think the the provision of independent advice on the threshold standards is really critical for the whole sector. Um we think it's critical for universities but also for the regulator TEXA to do its job in regulating against the threshold standards. Um the legislation does give the ATH a power to establish advisory committees but we think it should be made explicit that there should be an advisory committee focusing on the threshold standards. Um and then we would be happy for that to be brought together under the umbrella of the ATH.
And just coming back to you Miss Thompson, the group of eight submission notes that robust governance structures are essential for the ATH. Could you mind expanding? Would you mind expanding
Well, I mean it's fairly self-explanatory that we have to have public confidence. There is, you know, a challenge at the moment for our sector in terms of confidence and public confidence more broadly. And so to build that public trust and sector confidence, it must have robust reporting and performance measures which goes to the independence issue that we talked about right at the beginning. Um that decision- making should be data driven. There should be strong uh uh structured consultation with stakeholders and the publication of the advice provided to government. So that transparency because if it's going to be which it is a steward of funding frameworks uh and and reform we we believe that transparency openness and independence are absolutely critical to um to to that to those
>> Um I know that the bill has um explicitly a first nations commissioner and I think that's a really good thing. Um but do you think the bill also needs to ensure and I think this happened when JSA was set up um ensure that higher education appropriately reflects other diversity as well such as culturally and racially marginalized people, LGBTQIA plus people, people with disabilities.
So we I'll I'll just make a quick comment and then pass over to Professor Williams. But we think one of the really positive things about the Ache legislation is the emphasis on accessibility and equity in our higher education system and specifically looking at those groups that are under reppresented in our universities and higher education system. And so we would like to see that as a clear focus of the work of the ATH. Um and Professor Williams if you want to add anything to
that. Look, I I I absolutely agree where you're coming from, Senator, and they are exactly the groups that the system needs to serve who benefit most from higher education, but I just say, of course, we're not creating a human rights commission here where you would look for more overt commissioners and the like. And I think the key is that a tech has a very clear mandate to serve those groups. I I think it's justified to have a focus on First Nations in the way that's occurring. But personally, I think that is sufficient, including because it's just you get into this endless decision as to who's in and who's out. Um what matters more is the ambit and focus of the body and the stewardship that it will provide for all of those people.
>> Yeah. But those people need to be included in the body to be able to provide that stewardship uh and making it explicit. Uh I think that's all the questions I have.