Censure motions over Brash cancellation
WELLINGTON: Massey University’s academic board yesterday took the unprecedented step of moving two censure motions against its vicechancellor over her cancellation of a Don Brash speech.
Emails between Jan Thomas and university staff released under the Official Information Act yesterday show the vicechancellor saying it ‘‘would be good if we can cut it off at the pass somehow’’ weeks before Mr Brash was scheduled to speak at the Palmerston North campus in August.
On July 10, Prof Thomas emailed to say she would like to know the options for banning the politics club from holding events on campus. She said the ‘‘racist behaviour of Dr Brash — given te reo is an official language of NZ and we are a tiritiled university — can’t be ignored’’.
The motions were seconded — but not moved — as the chairwoman decided she needed to seek advice on whether the board had the legal authority to pass such censures.
The motions remain live for a month, until the board’s next meeting, when they will be voted upon. The board is the university’s highest academic decisionmaking committee and answers directly to the university council.
Deputy provicechancellor Chris Gallavin told RNZ: ‘‘There is significant worry, and perhaps even distrust if not anger in the minds of many Massey University staff, that they may have been told an untruth or at very least not the whole story’’.
Prof Gallavin said he had never heard of a board passing a censure motion against a vicechancellor and it would send ‘‘a strong message’’ to the council about the staff’s ‘‘disappointment’’.
‘‘Whether she should resign really revolves around that question as to whether she still has the trust and confidence of the staff.
‘‘Massey University Student Association have just issued a statement, a press release, saying they have no confidence in the vicechancellor and so that’s what one of the student bodies has said and it remains to be seen what the staff say.’’
Earlier yesterday, both Mr Brash and National Party leader Simon Bridges called for Prof Thomas to step down as vicechancellor — a role akin to chief executive.
Dr Brash has previously said he believed it was his views, rather than safety concerns, that led to him being banned from the publiclyfunded university.
Speaking from China, he said he considered Prof Thomas’ position almost untenable and told RNZ he believes she was ‘‘totally misleading’’.
‘‘Quite frankly, I don’t know if she can stay in her position.’’
Mr Bridges said Prof Thomas had to go because she had been dishonest and tried to thwart free speech.
‘‘That’s just not good enough anywhere in New Zealand but certainly not on university campuses,’’ he said.
‘‘Universities for centuries have been the bastions of free speech, of being able to say controversial things. It’s outrageous what’s happened here with Jan Thomas and we don’t want to see a trend here.’’
The Massey University poli tics club that organised Dr Brash’s speaking event plans to again try to hold the event on campus.
Manawatu Politics Society spokesman Michael Curtis said he was shocked and felt misled at what appeared to be a coordinated plan to shut down the event.
‘‘At the very least we’d like an apology from the vicechancellor. This definitely shows that there was, at a very basic level, some sort of conspiracy to shut down Don Brash right from the getgo . . . this was planned and coordinated long before the event even happened.’’
Mr Curtis said the club’s executive team still wanted to host an event on campus with Dr Brash because free speech should be protected at universities.
‘‘It is obviously our intention to try to bring him back to campus if we can, but obviously that will be dependent on whether the vicechancellor and the rest of Massey will allow it to happen.’’
Massey University has defended its reasons for cancelling Dr Brash’s speech on campus, saying concerns about the security threat were genuine.
In a written statement, the university said Prof Thomas ‘‘held concerns because of the upset that a previous visit by Hobson’s Pledge representatives to campus had caused but had been prepared to let it go ahead’’.
It said when a security threat was raised, Prof Thomas decided to cancel the booking.
Prof Thomas could not be reached yesterday, and the university declined all requests for interviews.
The Massey University Students’ Association said it had no confidence in the vicechancellor. — RNZ