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Australia’s universities are facing a governance crisis. While teaching and research should be at the heart of our higher education system, universities have increasingly been prioritising spending on huge pay packets for their senior managers, new buildings, advertising, travel, and consultants.

Australia’s universities have been plagued with scandals in recent years, from wage theft to conflicts of interest. Universities have even been taken to court for providing students with unaccredited degrees, and the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption has started an investigation into some staff from the University of Wollongong.

Dr Sarah Kaine MLC has led a NSW Parliament inquiry into the university sector over the last year, touring the state and uncovering scandals across the sector. The inquiry will table its final report in late September.

Join Dr Sarah Kaine MLC, Australia Institute Co-CEO Richard Denniss, and Deputy Research Director Jack Thrower, hosted by Dr Alice Grundy, Research Manager at The Australia Institute who will examine what has gone wrong with university governance, who should be held accountable, and what needs to change.

SPEAKERS: 

Dr Sarah Kaine MLC — Member of the NSW Legislative Council

Dr Sarah Kaine MLC is a member of the NSW Legislative Council and a former Associate Professor at the University of Technology Sydney, where she spent a decade researching and advocating for labour rights, gender equity, and the protection of vulnerable populations. With a career spanning academia, the union movement, and public service, Dr Kaine has consistently championed the role of organised labour in securing dignity and fairness at work. Her advocacy includes strong opposition to the corporatisation of universities, having served as a staff representative on the UTS Council where she fought to reduce precarious employment, limit executive pay, and improve representation for women. Elected to Parliament in 2023, she continues to be a vocal advocate for democratic governance in higher education and the protection of public institutions from market-driven reforms. In her capacity as the Chair of the Social Issues Committee Sarah initiated and led the recent Inquiry into University Governance in NSW.

Dr Richard Denniss — co-Chief Executive Officer, The Australia Institute

Dr Richard Denniss is the co-Chief Executive Officer of The Australia Institute. Richard is a leading Australian economist and public policy expert whose work explores the intersection of economics, democracy, power and the public interest. As co-Chief Executive Officer of The Australia Institute, Australia’s leading independent public policy think tank, he is at the forefront of national debates on economic reform, democracy, energy and climate policy, taxation, industry policy and the role of governmen. Over more than two decades, Richard has worked across academia, federal politics and public policy, building a reputation as one of Australia’s most influential public thinkers.

He is the author of numerous influential books and essays, including More Fool Me: How the Gas Industry Tricked Australia, Big: The Role of the State in the Modern Economy, Dead Centre: How Political Pragmatism Is Killing Us, Econobabble, Curing Affluenza, and the bestselling Affluenza. He is also the author of the acclaimed Quarterly Essay Dead Right: How Neoliberalism Ate Itself and What Comes Next.

Jack Thrower — Deputy Research Director, The Australia Institute

Jack Thrower is the Deputy Research Director at The Australia Institute. He has published on a diverse range of subjects including higher education, transportation, energy and climate change, insurance, taxation and welfare, macroeconomic and fiscal analysis, superannuation, and industrial relations.

Prior to coming to the Australia Institute, he worked across the federal public service at the Department of Finance, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and Attorney-General’s Department.

Dr Alice Grundy — Research Manager, The Australia Institute

Dr Alice Grundy is an editor, researcher and teacher, with over 15 years’ experience working in book publishing, and a Visiting Fellow at ANU. She has worked for the public service and has taught at the University of Technology Sydney, the University of Melbourne and Australian National University. She completed a PhD on editing and publishing history at ANU, the first half of which became Editing Fiction: Three case studies from postwar Australia, published by Cambridge University Press.