Despite Peter Ridd losing in the High Court his case included a win for protecting academic freedom under enterprise agreements 

Dr Ridd lost his job at James Cook U because the court found he had breached its Code of Conduct in statements subsequent to his initial criticism of science at the university on the state of the Great Barrier Reef. (CMM October 14).

But the judges were quite clear that Dr Ridd’s initial comments were protected by the intellectual freedom clause (14) of the university’s enterprise agreement.

The High Court’s timing could not have been better for union representatives and management at any university which wants to follow up the ruling – Round Eight Enterprise Bargaining, is underway, imminent or anticipated across the country.

The Ridd decision will encourage National Tertiary Education Union branches to ensure the sort of protections the High Court found in the JCU academic freedom clause are entrenched or extended in local agreements

“One of the key claims in this round will be removing any ambiguity that might encourage university managements to discipline a staff member who is exercising academic freedom,” a bargaining expert suggests.

But will universities accept JCU’s defeat on that point in Dr Ridd’s claim applies to their staff?

“It will be interesting to see how university managements react to the High Court decision,” the bargaining watcher suggests.

“Will they be happy to clarify to the extent of any ambiguity that academic freedom is a core and defining feature of universities and that using the Code of Conduct to limit it undermines the raison d’etre of universities? Or will they seek to change what’s in the agreements to allow them to discipline staff who, in their eyes, damage the reputation of the university?”

Surely, it would take a Sir Humphrey kind of courage, for management bargaining teams to ask union negotiators to accept academic freedom protections in university polices, which are subject to codes of conduct,  in new agreements. But who knows.

Back in 2017 Uni Melbourne opposed the NTEU’s call for free speech protection in the enterprise agreement, telling CMM,

“All university scholars are free to engage in critical enquiry and public discourse under the binding university council Academic Freedom of Expression Policy. There is no intent to change this policy nor to compromise the university’s unwavering commitment to its terms, reaffirmed by council as recently as March this year,” the university stated.

So why not also add protections to the enterprise agreement? CMM asked. ““The university firmly believes that academic freedom is too important to be governed through an industrial agreement,” management replied, (CMM August 27 and August 30 2017).

Given Ridd, this will be a hard case to make to union bargaining teams.