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Universities Australia slams proposed foreign veto laws
The government’s proposed new laws that would grant the foreign affairs minister the power to veto international agreements reached by public universities and federal, state and local governments have been criticised by Universities Australia.
Naomi Neilson
The Morrison government has insisted that new review power is needed to ensure the arrangements entered into with foreign governments “do not adversely affect Australia and its foreign relations”, but the proposed foreign veto laws have been met with a lot of criticism of its intentions and consequences, including from Universities Australia.
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The Australian Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Bill 2020 intends to shine a spotlight on the arrangements between state or territory entities – including universities – and “foreign entities”, regardless of whether they are legally binding. The types of deals include contracts and memorandums of understanding.
Universities Australia CEO Catriona Jackson said that although the education body is not opposed to the objectives of transparency, the bill will not meet that goal.
“Universities have two core concerns. Firstly, the workability of laws that will cover the thousands and thousands of agreements; and secondly, we are deeply concerned that the bill will deter international partnerships which are the lifeblood of research,” she said.
Ms Jackson said it is critically important that any proposed bill strikes the right balance between national security and research collaboration. The current legislation needs to be amended to either exempt universities or narrow the types of agreements covered.
“It is essential the bill is workable for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as well as universities,” Ms Jackson said. “As a nation, we have a small population and we simply cannot afford to deter international research partners from working with us.
“The consequences will be the irreparable loss of Australian jobs and know-how right when we need it the most.”
