Four more Australian National University council members quit after Julie Bishop's resignation
Four more council members of the Australian National University have resigned after former foreign minister Julie Bishop's surprise departure. The cascade of resignations exposes a deepening governance crisis at one of Australia's leading universities.
Four more council members of the Australian National University (ANU) have resigned within 24 hours of former foreign minister Julie Bishop's unexpected departure. The resignations show that the debate over the university's governance has moved into a new phase.
The council said in a statement that recent budget cuts, programme closures and disagreements over advisory board decisions had broken down internal communication. Academic staff unions have publicly called for an inquiry and a temporary external review.
The federal education ministry said it had requested information on the resignations and would consider administrative steps if necessary. Attention is now on how ANU will fill the management gap before the critical period of international research partnerships and new student enrolment begins.
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