Letter from Professors of Victoria University

We write as members of the professoriate at Victoria University to decry the threat of legal action for defamation against our respected colleague, Dr James Doughney, by the Chancellor, Justice Frank Vincent. (The Age, 18 and 19 December 2008.) The Chancellor’s decision to threaten Dr. Doughney with defamation action clearly undermines the ability of any staff member in the University to publicly raise criticisms or questions in relation to the governance of the University.

It is a sad day for freedom of speech when a person of Justice Vincent’s standing attempts to gag an elected staff representative on the university council for frankly and fearlessly speaking his mind. When John Cain, the father of the Solicitor-General charged with sending the letter to Jamie Doughney, co-authored a book entitled 'Off Course', no legal action followed. In that book he subjected the commercial transactions of the then Vice Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, Alan Gilbert, to rigorous scrutiny, and was far more critical of that VC's actions than in the current context. Cain's critique was understood to be fair comment. The same is true of Doughney's.

Dr Doughney, as an elected staff representative on the university council, has employed his considerable professional expertise to raise concerns about the justifications used by senior management in their attempt to slash jobs and courses at Victoria University. Concerns about the validity of the justifications given by the Vice Chancellor for the cuts, as well as the entire process, are shared by the majority of VU staff. The right of any staff member to make criticisms about University processes and the budget should be a basic right at any university in Australia. It is also a particularly important role for our staff representatives and the fact that the representative may simultaneously hold a position within the Union is irrelevant. The University is a public institution and controversial public comments should be debated in public.

A university is about argument and debate and this at times will be passionate. It is not about conformity and mediocrity, about turning VU into the kind of place where staff are too afraid to speak their minds. This threat of legal action should be immediately withdrawn. It is inconsistent with the principles of freedom of speech and open debate which have traditionally been at the heart of the University’s mission. There are times when to remain silent is to run the risk of becoming complicit. The attempted silencing of our colleague threatens the academic freedom of us all.

Professor Jill Astbury
Professor Dorothy Bruck
Professor Phillip Deery
A/Professor David McCallum
Professor Emeritus John McLaren
Professor Carolyn NobleProfessor and
Dean Laureate Robert Pascoe

School of Social Sciences and Psychology,
Victoria University