E&OE 

SALLY SARA: A landmark report into racism at Australian universities has found that it is deeply embedded in the educational institutions. Of the 76,000 students and staff that took part in the Racism@Uni study, more than 70 per cent said they had either experienced or witnessed racist behaviour. Jewish and Palestinian students were the most affected with 90 per cent reporting experiences of racism at university. From racist slurs to curtailed careers and racially biased evaluations, Australia’s Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman says the report paints a grim picture of Australia’s tertiary education sector. 

Luke Sheehy is the Chief Executive Officer of Universities Australia and joins me now. Luke, welcome back to Radio National Breakfast. 

LUKE SHEEHY: Good morning, Sally. 

SALLY SARA: What’s your reaction to this report? 

LUKE SHEEHY: I think what we know is that 76,000 people, staff and students’ voices should be heard. It’s very troubling and sobering. We want to make sure that we continue to listen to not only those voices, but the voices of the university community. We know that racism is an issue on our university campuses, as it is right across the Australian community, but we’ve got an important role to play as public institutions and institutions of education to continue to work through to make sure that our campuses are places that are safe and inclusive and they don’t result in harm or a breach of a person’s human rights. Universities can play a role in combatting racism on behalf of the nation and want to continue the good work that we’ve done over many years, but this report is an important moment for us to reflect and continue to listen. 76,000 people shouldn’t be ignored, and we will look at the report, and we’ll continue to work with the Human Rights Commission, government and our communities into the future. 

SALLY SARA: Are you shocked by some of the findings? 

LUKE SHEEHY: Sally, I’m always shocked about people’s experiences at university. I had a wonderful experience at university, but clearly so many students find it difficult on our campuses as they do in the wider community, and I want to make sure we continue to listen to those voices and frankly, put in place support structures for our students and our staff alike. The report also shines a light on what we’ve done well across some of our universities, and I think it’s important that we continue to share that throughout our network of universities and look at ways we can support our students and our community. The other important part I think we should reflect on is our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community who for more than two centuries have experienced a unique form of racism in the Australian community, and that’s not immune on our campuses. We want to make sure that whatever we do next, their issues and their needs come at the centre of that response. 

SALLY SARA: Just briefly on a separate issue, in recent months, several universities have moved to slash arts degrees and faculties as enrolments dip for creative arts courses. What conversations have you been having with the government about the Morrison-era Job-ready Graduates scheme? 

LUKE SHEEHY: We’re looking at the prospect of students in an arts or humanities three-year degree paying more than $57,000 in the years ahead. This is a policy that the Labor Party opposed in opposition, and we’ve had two elections since this policy was introduced. Universities Australia want to see this failed policy go. $50,000-plus degrees for arts and humanities and other disciplines puts up barriers to access university. We need to see more students go to university in the years ahead. That’s not what universities are saying. It’s actually what the Australian government said through its landmark Universities Accord final report. We need to get rid of this unfair funding system and the unfair fees associated with it. It’s the Australian government that sets the fees for Australian students in our universities, and we are on a campaign to get rid of this unfair system and replace it with something that is fair to access university. We need fairer fees. Australian students already pay some of the highest fees in the world and $50,000 plus for an arts and humanities degree is simply unfair and we need to get rid of it immediately. 

SALLY SARA: Luke, thank you very much for joining me this morning. 

LUKE SHEEHY: Great to be with you. 

ENDS