Alison Barnes

Academics dispute state of finances at leading Sydney university - ABC listen Almost one in every two Australian universities has been restructured in the past year, and there is more to come. Thousands of jobs have been cut, and thousands more are in the firing line. At the ...

Wish I could talk about the teaching and research achievements of our members but nonetheless was great to join former colleague Sue Wright, debunking the excuses of the vice-chancellors’ lobby group for management’s bad decisions www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

It has taken time to get university governance on the public radar.

Our sector has experienced casualisation, wage theft, & mass job cuts.

@nteunion.bsky.social, especially @alisonbarnes.bsky.social, have been great at going after the root cause - the leadership & governance crisis in higher ed.

Much attention has been on ANU but the governance crisis is broad and deep across the sector. Close scrutiny needs to be applied *everywhere*. This is shameful from UTS management.

The Senate inquiry’s interim recommendations are a massive win for @NTEUnion members’ campaign for governance reform. Transparency, caps on VC pay, stronger staff/student voices & tougher TEQSA powers – all welcome steps. There’s more to fight for!

UTS’s teacher education program set to close as university reveals plan to slash more than 1,000 subjects Of the 1,101 subjects to be discontinued, 463 had no student enrolments and weren’t taught in 2024, according to University of Technology Sydney’s proposal

This devastating plan is a disaster for the community and represents a
direct attack on the core mission of UTS. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Don’t stop the music: Jimmy Barnes signs on to save ANU school A group of 35 musicians have called on the ANU to halt proposed changes to the School of Music saying it will rob musicians of future professional careers.

Go Barnsey 🎸🎸🎸 www.afr.com/work-and-car...

ANU vice-chancellor resigns after months of controversy Genevieve Bell has bowed to intense pressure and resigned from her position as Australian National University vice-chancellor.

Bishop needs to go as well. There is no sensible governance arrangement where she gets to lead appointing a new VC. A new Chancellor / Chair and then a deep breath followed by a proper process to appoint a new VC / CEO needed. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

Genevieve Bell resigns as ANU Vice-Chancellor, no word on the future of Renew ANU | Region Canberra UPDATE 11:35 am: The ANU has now independently confirmed Professor Genevieve Bell has stepped down as Vice-Chancellor and President of…

"A completely broken governance system has allowed unaccountable executives to cause enormous damage to staff, students and communities" - Alison Barnes, NTEU National President @alisonbarnes.bsky.social @nteunion.bsky.social #ANU
region.com.au/genevieve-be...

University staff 'disheartened and demoralised' as thousands sacked With the university sector in crisis, thousands face losing their jobs as unions blame poor management and students say they've lost hope.

Extraordinary for uni bosses to suggest they have no control over the bottom line. Yes, the government needs to scrap Jobs Ready Graduates and replace it. But vice-chancellors must own $734m on consultants in a single year and the executive pay explosion! www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

In the last two years, ANU leadership has taken an approach of moving fast and breaking things.

Unfortunately, too many of those things were people.

Very proud of @nteunion.bsky.social members at #ANU. Now to lock in no forced redundancies. ✊

With @NTEUnion members at Victorian Parliament to speak with government MPs about the university governance crisis and the need for reform. Thanks to everyone who shared their horror stories with the MPs including Deputy Premier and Education Minister @BenCarrollMP.

Vice chancellors' decision to cut jobs while defending their excessive pay further erodes our public institutions and undermines trust in university governance.

Let's stand together for better universities 👉 betterunis.nteu.au

📰Read in full here: www.news.com.au/national/nsw...

Why ANU boss Genevieve Bell must go Replacing the Australian National University vice chancellor is a necessary first step to rebuilding the reputation of the ANU and restoring its legitimacy.

“Replacing the ANU vice chancellor is a necessary first step… But it is not a sufficient step…

If governance and policy direction doesn’t change, it won’t matter who sits in the vice chancellor’s chair – the outcomes for staff, students and the public will be the same.”

www.afr.com/work-and-car...

At today’s Senate inquiry hearing, VCs spent more time complaining about “compliance costs” than showing contrition for the governance crisis. They want to sack hundreds of staff, hiding behind false narratives instead of owning their disastrous workforce planning. www.news.com.au/national/nsw...

🎙️LIVE NOW🎙️

Hear from VCs in Sydney at the Senate Inquiry into university governance: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfKv...

To Australia’s university fat cats, who may yet face job cuts not of their own making – don’t forget to wash your underwear … It’s been decades since parasitic consultancies began advising our tertiary institutions, at exorbitant cost

Australian universities are a shit show and university managements who listen to corporate consultancy grifters are to blame. My latest in the @theguardian.com.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Australian writers shocked and ‘disgusted’ by closure of 85-year-old literary journal Meanjin After 85 years of continuous publication, Meanjin, Australia’s second-oldest literary journal, is closing.

“If the most prestigious university in Australia will not fund our most prestigious literary journal, then it makes you question whether or not universities actually care about Australian culture.”
johnmenadue.com/post/2025/09...

Petition to ANU Council In support of our petition, we observe that:  • ANU Council has the entire control and management of the University and is required to act in all matters concerning the ANU in the way it thinks w...

Meanwhile, keep up the pressure for change by signing our petition.
www.megaphone.org.au/petitions/pe...

Exclusive: Inside the Australian National University’s leadership crisis Amid mounting scandals and a loss of confidence in her management, the Australian National University vice-chancellor is negotiating an exit from her role.

We'll be ready to work with interim leadership from Day 1 to end Renew ANU and stop *all* forced redundancies.

This is only possible with new leadership.

@nteunion.bsky.social - and everyone else - knows that the farce at #ANU has gone on for far too long.

Vice-chancellors will face the Senate inquiry into university governance on Monday. They have very serious questions to answer about shocking governance failures on their watch. So far we've seen no meaningful action from VCs to fix governance. Reform is urgent.

University boss got a $240k pay rise over three years He heads up one of the smallest universities in Australia but Professor Tyrone Carlin’s salary is nearly $1 million a year.

💰💰💰https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/university-boss-got-a-240k-pay-rise-over-three-years-20250902-p5mrth

Safety watchdog hits pause on 400 university job cuts Plans to cut hundreds of university jobs have been paused by a workplace safety regulator as concerns over...

Reckless Restructures

A workplace safety watchdog has intervened to pause a restructure at the University of Technology Sydney due to concerns about its psychosocial impact on staff.

With comments from @alisonbarnes.bsky.social from the @nteunion.bsky.social

Michelle Arrow, Anna Clark and Frank Bongiorno’s co-authored piece in The Conversation. @michellearrow.bsky.social @frankbongiorno.bsky.social @ouranu.bsky.social @utsengage.bsky.social #MacquarieUniversity

What a historic win! SafeWork NSW has stepped in to force UTS management to pause job cuts.

This would not be possible without NTEU members at UTS standing together to voice and expose the serious and damaging psychosocial impacts on staff wellbeing.

Article 👉 www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

SafeWork NSW orders UTS to pause job cuts due to risk of ‘psychological harm’ Union labels intervention a ‘rare and damning rebuke’ * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has been forced to pause a plan to slash hundreds of jobs after a rare intervention by SafeWork NSW, which said workers would be subject to a “serious and imminent risk of psychological harm” if management pushed ahead. Under the ruling, UTS cancelled all meetings scheduled on Wednesday and Thursday with around 800 impacted staff and paused the release of its change proposal, which was to be rolled out this week. Continue reading...

SafeWork NSW orders UTS to pause job cuts due to risk of ‘psychological harm’

Our students deserve better than cuts to the courses they can study and cuts to staff who support their learning and development.

Australian universities to cut about 2,400 jobs and hundreds of courses as sector blames ‘confused’ government policies Vice-chancellors say they’ve been forced to restructure but critics point finger at ‘unaccountable’ university management

These sudden and unnecessary course and job cuts are a symptom of the broken governance structures that overpaid and unaccountable university leaders operate under. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

This is some ripe new bullshit from the cashed up grifting consultancy class cannibalising Australian universities. This is SHAMEFUL from @westernsydneyu.bsky.social. #auspol

With founding NTEU members, branch presidents and rank and file members with their families and friends. We march for peace and to stop the genocide.