It turns out Australian universities are “hotbeds of curtailment of free speech” amid news only 9 of 42 universities signed up for a new free speech code of conduct, says the Institute of Public Affairs’ Dr Bella D’Abrera.
Sky News host Chris Kenny said the new code of conduct was to “nurture freedom of speech” and you would think “any university worth its salt” would sign up.
“It’s an excellent thing that the federal government is actually taking action to preserve and to promote free speech,” Ms D’Abrera said.
“Last year the IPA ran a survey and we found out that 41 per cent of students fear saying anything in class because of retribution from their teacher.
“31 per cent of students are scared to say anything on campus and 59 per cent of students are scared to say anything around their fellow students that might be conveyed as the wrong thing to say.”
Ms D’Abrera concluded there is “clearly a free speech crisis on campus” and our universities “owe it to the taxpayers to actually endorse this free speech code of conduct”.
