Michelle Arrow

THIS 👇

How did the 10 prime ministers since Whitlam change Australia? As prime minister, Whitlam changed the country in profound ways. 10 experts assess how the prime ministers since shape up as agents of change - for better or worse.

And putting Whitlam in a longer context - short essays on all the PMs since Whitlam here:

theconversation.com/how-did-the-...

Extraordinary and occasionally inept: before The Dismissal, the Whitlam government changed Australia forever With a bold reform agenda and occasional administrative chaos, Whitlam’s three-year government had, and continues to have, a profound effect on Australian life.

It’s that time of year when too much Whitlam is barely enough! Here’s my addition to the fray:

theconversation.com/extraordinar...

That’s so kind of you, Kristen - thank you!

Tony Abbott and Rachel Griffiths are hosting rival TV shows with some surprising things in common Both take on frontier violence and the challenge of finding drama in a foundational moment that many Australians don’t appreciate.

I watched six hours of Australian history on TV so you don’t have to (though I think you should!)

www.smh.com.au/culture/tv-a...

Free event 📣The right to enquire? A Symposium on #academicfreedom.

📅 Tues 25 Nov
📍 University of Melbourne
Tickets: bit.ly/4qg5Q0y

Speakers include Prof @michellearrow.bsky.social, Prof @joelobianco.bsky.social, Prof
@adriennestone.bsky.social, Prof Frank Bongiorno, Prof Peter Greste & more.

black & white photograph of young Diane Keaton smiling and standing next to a white refrigerator in a barren-looking kitchen. her cat Buster is crouched on top of the fridge playing with/swatting her hair in the upper right hand corner. she's wearing a long skinny white scarf with a dot-grid pattern, a high-neck white blouse with an ascot/kerchief around the neck, and a black blazer/skirt or blazer dress over what looks like a vest

Diane Keaton in her Manhattan apartment with Buster, an Abyssinian, photographed by Jill Krementz in 1977

Never have I so badly needed Daniel Craig to say these words

Bleak times at Macquarie Uni, as management moves to implement large scale job cuts in arts and science (because who needs that expertise, right?). Amanda’s threat outlines the lies that underpin these changes. We need urgent governance reform now: but is the government listening?

This is disgraceful - both the workload and the AI ‘workaround’

Don’t ever let Labor say there’s no money for essential services when Richard Marles says it’s budgeted $25 billion for submarine pens to support the U.S. Navy.

#Insiders #auspol

This is shoddy but unsurprising behaviour from an institution that continues to lionise Ben Roberts-Smith despite multiple courts having determined him to be a murderer.

Imagine if a business or federal department acted like this. Here's why unis get away it The leaders of Australian universities are enjoying the best of both worlds when it comes to the way they are regulated, but students are getting the worst.

Great piece on the failures of governance and regulation over our university sector by Richard Dennis:

australiainstitute.org.au/post/imagine...

Most humanities research — including the best, most world leading research by people we’ve all heard of — is unfunded, by which they mean produced as part of one’s routine job as a university lecturer, just “not funded by a big competitive external grant”.

This would mean the death of research.

his father was unavailable for comment

The end of Meanjin after 85 years is as sad as it is infuriating | Ben Walter MUP says it is ‘no longer viable’ to make the literary magazine – but almost none of them are financially viable. That’s not their purpose or value

“of course it struggled to be viable – it’s a literary magazine. almost no literary magazines around the world are financially viable; that’s not their purpose. the point is their cultural value, the role they serve as a platform for ideas and creativity…” www.theguardian.com/books/commen...

To inform TEQSA's compliance assessment and its regulatory options, TEQSA requires the Independent Expert to provide an opinion on whether ANU's corporate governance, leadership and culture is operating effectively, with particular reference to whether: a. actual or potential conflicts of interest are identified and appropriately managed, and whether this is tested and challenged (where appropriate); b. the development of plans, priorities and responses (including those focussed on financial sustainability) is informed by an appropriate breadth of perspective and oversight, including internal consultation, external advice, and consideration and discussion of that internal consultation/advice by Council; c. relevant risks associated with the implementation of plans/priorities/change are appropriately identified, discussed and addressed at Council and among ANU leadership; d. in cases where concerns about ANU's corporate governance, its leadership, or its culture do arise, there are effective mechanisms to raise and respond to those concerns, including through complaints and grievance processes.

In undertaking this review, the Independent Expert's activities will include, but are not limited to: a. undertaking targeted consultations and interviews with ANU staff, students, and current and former Council members; b. conducting interviews with ANU senior executives and governance officeholders; c. reviewing Council papers, meeting minutes, and decision records; d. examining financial statements, reporting frameworks, and audit materials; e. analysing organisational culture, leadership practices, and staff wellbeing issues; considering relevant legal, compliance, and policy documentation; g. identifying systemic or root causes of governance concerns; and, h. advising TEQSA on implications for higher education governance more broadly.

Forced redundancies and restructuring at ANU must stop - in the least pause - while TEQSA investigates the university. Leadership also must step aside while the regulator examines their conduct. How can an investigation be completed fairly any other way? www.teqsa.gov.au/sites/defaul...

The Surprising Truth About Which College Majors Are Actually Useful at Work A sociologist studied how students get internships and jobs, and who really uses their degrees.

"A lot of the business majors didn’t think they had learned anything particularly useful in college." Knock me over with a feather. www.chronicle.com/newsletter/t...

Thanks Zora!

Universities have lost their way, but cost-cutting and consultants are not the answer Last week in Sydney, we saw a melodrama acted out that could stand in for the state of Australian universities more generally.

Thanks to @michellearrow.bsky.social , @frankbongiorno.bsky.social and Anna Clark for bringing solutions to the higher ed crisis - as teachers and researchers, not consultants
theconversation.com/universities...

All universities were encouraged to sign on to the Universities Australia statement on antisemitism earlier this year - I suspect this is why the code of conduct was imposed by the uni this year

Dr Liz Allen’s evidence today was heartbreaking, brave and infuriating. This is the devastating personal toll of broken governance. Julie Bishop must resign immediately or be sacked. t.co/O9W9nhpydN

Senator @mehreenfaruqi.bsky.social: ‘Does it worry you that the staff students and alumni are so dissatisfied and untrusting of governance and the university?’

Kate Witenden, ANU Chief People Officer: ‘I’m not aware of this.’

Senator Faruqi: ‘Why am I aware and you are not?’

‘Our public universities have become corporatised, governed from behind closed doors by people with little connection to the daily realities of staff and students. The consequences have been catastrophic.’ Dr Alison Barnes, NTEU National President at today’s Senate Inquiry into university governance

Help us reach our target of 5000 signatures - please sign and share!

12 single mums chaired by an academic could put together an entire system in a day for the cost of lunch

AI industry horrified to face largest copyright class action ever certified Copyright class actions could financially ruin AI industry, trade groups say.

The crux of their argument is that if they're found liable, then the consequences of their own actions that no one forced them to take could ruin them and the rest of their industry that undertakes similar practices.

To which I say motherfucker did you never hear about Napster

Why Labor is stalling on real universities funding reform The education minister has deferred action to abolish the Morrison-era Job-ready Graduates scheme, which has helped to hollow out tertiary funding and saddled students with lifelong debts.

The government is under mounting pressure to dump a Morrison-era policy that has drastically cut university funding, saddled many students with debts they will never be able to repay and driven many more away from higher education altogether. satpa.pe/MA6GXR1

Repeal Job-Ready Graduates Policy Now: Restoring Equity in Higher Education - Online petition We sign this petition in solidarity with those who signed the Open Letter to the Prime Minister on 28 July 2025…

We are so close to reaching our target of 2500 signatures on this petition calling for the repeal of Job-Ready Graduates! If you care about equity in higher education and want the BA to be affordable and accessible for *all* students, please sign! www.openpetition.org/au/petition/...

Aerial screengrab of a pro-Palestinian march on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Photograph: Channel 9

Sydney turning out in support of Palestine. So good to see.