All of which makes Open Minds, a compelling new book from Carolyn Evans and Adrienne Stone, particularly timely. The authors provide a stimulating analysis of threats to academic freedom in Australia. Open Minds is measured, informed by history and law (with twenty-three pages of footnotes and two appendices), yet still accessible to a general audience. Bringing clear-eyed analysis to an issue too often hijacked by partisan voices, it resists the hyperbole of the right while acknowledging that academic freedom is legitimately at risk in certain contexts. Australia’s new education minister, Alan Tudge, would be well advised to read this book.

Concern about academic freedom is not new. In medieval times, British universities were built as fortresses due to the risk of violence between students and villagers. In the earliest days of Australia’s Federation, public controversies ignited debate about the freedom of university staff to speak freely. In 1902, for example, a professor was censured by the University of Sydney for his pacifist critique of the Boer War. Perhaps the most severe threat to academic freedom faced by Australia came in the mid-twentieth century, when anti-communist fears led to direct interference by the government. Spies kept watch – Evans and Stone note that at one point ASIO had files on about ten per cent of Melbourne University’s academic staff – and appointments were vetted, sometimes even vetoed. More recently, Robert French undertook a lengthy independent review into academic freedom in 2019. While some criticised the former High Court chief justice for offering credibility to the ongoing culture wars, the authors suggest his findings – that there is no free speech crisis on Australian campuses but that there are areas of concern – ‘has been valuable for Australian universities’.

In medieval times, British universities were built as fortresses due to the risk of violence between students and villagers

Having sketched the history, Evans and Stone move to the law. The ‘centrepiece’ of Australian law on academic freedom, they write, is section 19–115 of the federal Higher Education Support Act 2003. This contains a requirement, introduced by the Gillard government in 2011, that Australian universities must have a ‘policy that upholds free intellectual inquiry in relation to learning, teaching and research’ as a condition of receiving government funding. Evans and Stone also outline the broader legal framework: university-specific authorising laws, workplace enterprise agreements, and distinct campus policies. They note, pointedly, ‘most academic freedom policies recognise that academic freedom also entails responsibilities’.

There have been a number of cases before Australian courts in recent years where academic freedom has been pleaded by disgruntled university employees. The most high-profile example is Peter Ridd, a climate sceptic at James Cook University who fiercely criticised the research of colleagues on the health of the Great Barrier Reef. Ridd was dismissed for breaching the university’s code of conduct and has become a cause célèbre for the IPA; he successfully challenged the sacking in the Federal Circuit Court but lost on appeal. The High Court will hear the case this year. Evans and Stone are sympathetic to Ridd’s predicament, but they note the challenges in drawing a clear dividing line between robust academic criticism and bullying.

Perhaps the most important point Evans and Stone make is a conceptual one. ‘Academic freedom and freedom of speech are often treated as synonymous,’ Evans and Stone write. This tendency of public discourse fails to recognise important differences between the two terms. Accordingly, a primary aim of Open Minds is to ‘untangle these concepts and to explain the relationship between them’. Three aspects of that discussion are noteworthy. First, Evans and Stone suggest that academic freedom deserves heightened protection, above and beyond that offered to free speech generally; a consequence of this approach is that those engaged in research are entitled to stronger safeguards than professional staff. Second, the authors make a vigorous case for academic freedom protecting criticism of institutions themselves: ‘Academic criticism of university governance is essential to the flourishing of research and teaching and, consequently, the pursuit of knowledge.’ That freedom is jeopardised by universities following the corporate trend towards employment contracts that prohibit bringing an employer into disrepute. Finally, academic freedom is not an excuse for underperforming academics: ‘If legal scholars fail to stay on top of changes in the law, if historians misread or fail to consult historical records, academic freedom does not entitle them to immunity from the consequences.’

It would be hard to find two more capable guides for navigating such turbulent and politicised terrain. Evans is the vice-chancellor of Griffith University; she previously held senior roles at the University of Melbourne, and is an international authority on religious freedom. Stone, meanwhile, is Australia’s leading free speech scholar and a distinguished professor at Melbourne Law School. Accordingly, they bring both academic expertise and practical insight to some of the vexing issues raised by the current debate.

Evans and Stone also spend time pondering the future. Several trends represent ongoing challenges to academic freedom. The authors consider the corporatisation of Australia’s higher education market, noting that universities cannot become ‘an educational supermarket, where the customer is always right’. The pre-pandemic level of international students was central to the balance of many Australian universities. This often gave rise to problematic attempts to accommodate both academic freedom and student sensitivities. There have been several incidents involving lecturers being challenged for teaching in relation to China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Funding is another ongoing challenge. With less government money available, commercial and philanthropic revenue is becoming particularly important. The Ramsay Centre’s desire to donate large sums to universities to teach ‘Western civilisation’ courses is the most high-profile example of the risk of inappropriate influence associated with wealthy funders. But it is by no means the only example. ‘If a research team can only retain its funding by obtaining the “right” result, how might that knowledge affect researchers?’ Evans and Stone ask.

The authors conclude with brief observations about how universities might better uphold academic freedom. This section is the least developed part of Open Minds, although that, perhaps, was the point. ‘We have no wish to be prescriptive as to how exactly other universities might foster a culture that respects both academic freedom and free speech,’ they write. ‘Universities are best placed to decide on matters of tone and emphasis themselves.’

Events of the past year loom over this book; the pandemic is referenced but not explored in detail. But Covid-19 has betrayed the grand irony undermining the professed concern of the federal government and its cheerleaders for academic freedom and free speech on campus. In 2020, the Australian university sector was devastated by the pandemic. Morrison refused to help. Thousands of jobs were lost. It is this wilful indifference to the health of the sector, rather than overblown concerns about academic freedom, that poses the greatest threat to Australian scholars being able to think, write, and speak freely.