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Education and Skills

It is vital that Australia's education system exposes all sides of the important political issues to young people, and gives them the skills to participate in the modern world. However, many schools and universities are turning their back on free speech, and are indoctrinating children with political dogma. Here you will find our research on restoring freedom to education.

Research Papers

Free Speech on Campus Audit 2018

Matthew Lesh 10 December 2018 Education and skills, Freedom of speech,

The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA)’s Free Speech on Campus Audit 2018 is the third systematic analysis of over 190 policies and actions at Australia’s 42 universities. The Audit...

Media Releases

Free Speech in Decline: IPA Free Speech On Campus Audit 2018

Matthew Lesh 10 December 2018 Education and skills, Freedom of speech,

Free expression at Australian universities is slipping even further, according to the Institute of Public Affairs’ Free Speech on Campus Audit 2018. The audit analyses over 190 policies and...

IPA TODAY

Literacy And Numeracy Skills Are Declining As Students Are Taught To Be More Politically Active

Bella d'Abrera 5 December 2018 Education and skills, In the news,

Last week, thousands of angry and emotional schoolchildren carrying an array of crudely-made placards bearing messages of varying degrees of originality took to the streets of Sydney to protest...

PUBLICATIONS

The Heavy Hand Of Free Speech

John Roskam 16 November 2018 Education and skills, Freedom of speech,

The British philosopher Sir Roger Scruton in a recent speech remarked that modern-day universities are increasingly reverting to the role they played in the Middle Ages. Medieval universities...

PUBLICATIONS

A Chance For Universities To Think Again

Matthew Lesh 15 November 2018 Education and skills, Freedom of speech,

Free speech is fundamental to what it means to be a university. It is fundamental to undertaking research and ensuring students can grow intellectually. The government’s announcement that former...

PUBLICATIONS

IPA Welcomes Robert French-Led Free Speech On Campus Inquiry

Matthew Lesh 14 November 2018 Education and skills, Freedom of speech,

Free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs has welcomed the Government’s announcement that former Chief Justice of Australia Robert French will review freedom of speech at...

PUBLICATIONS

UTAS Risk To Freedom Of Expression And Human Rights

Matthew Lesh 7 November 2018 Education and skills, Freedom of speech,

The University of Tasmania’s draft behaviour policy is a serious threat to freedom of expression and basic legal rights. The bedrock of university life is the ability to freely explore ideas. It...

PUBLICATIONS

Minister’s Veto Exposes The Rot Within The Humanities

Bella d'Abrera 1 November 2018 Education and skills, In the news,

The news that former federal education minister Simon Birmingham vetoed several humanities research projects submitted to the Australian Research Council last year has sparked a flurry of...

PUBLICATIONS

Reform ABC And Unis By Funding Cuts

John Roskam 5 October 2018 Education and skills, Ideas and liberty,

In a public debate in Canada a few months ago with the psychologist Jordan Peterson and the philosopher Sam Harris, Bret Weinstein, the American evolutionary biologist, got to the heart of the...

PUBLICATIONS

Universities Have A Duty To Protect Free Speech

Simon Breheny and Matthew Lesh 28 September 2018 Education and skills, Ideas and liberty,

Australia’s universities are public institutions with a corresponding legal responsibility to uphold free expression. This point was made by former High Court chief justice Robert French last week...

Originally appeared in The Australian

PUBLICATIONS

As Unis Stifle Free Speech, We Need A Law To Stop The Rot

Matthew Lesh 28 September 2018 Education and skills, In the news,

The federal government needs to introduce US-style campus free-speech legislation to safeguard free intellectual inquiry and open debate at Australia’s universities. We are in the midst of a...

Originally appeared in The Australian

PUBLICATIONS

Western Civilisation “Not Welcome Here”

Bella d'Abrera 27 September 2018 Education and skills, In the news,

In 2017, following the wishes of the late Paul Ramsay, a businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune in the healthcare industry, the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation was set up in...

IPA TODAY

University of Sydney Encourages Censorious Heckler’s Veto

Matthew Lesh 25 September 2018 Education and skills, Ideas and liberty,

The University of Sydney is encouraging censorship by charging security fees to student event organisers, according to free market think tank the Institute Public Affairs. University of Sydney...

PUBLICATIONS

National Curriculum Changes Should Sound Alarm Bells For Parents

Bella d'Abrera 21 September 2018 Education and skills, In the news,

THE changes to the national curriculum announced by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) last week should sound some very loud alarm bells for Australian parents...

Originally appeared in The Daily Telegraph

PUBLICATIONS

Is Safetyism Destroying a Generation?

Matthew Lesh 3 September 2018 Education and skills, In the news,

In recent years behaviours on university campuses have created widespread unease. Safe spaces, trigger warnings, and speech codes. Demands for speakers to be disinvited. Words construed...

Originally appeared in Quillette

PUBLICATIONS

Universities Of The Closed Mind

Matthew Lesh 30 June 2018 Education and skills, In the news,

A series of leaked emails reveal the depths of prejudice and groupthink at Australia’s universities. In late May, Macquarie University academics were invited to a presentation by an Israeli. The...

Originally appeared in The Spectator Australia

PUBLICATIONS

University Regulator TEQSA Has Lost Its Way On Political Matters

Matthew Lesh 29 June 2018 Education and skills, In the news,

Australia’s university regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, is not only failing to protect free intellectual inquiry but its ideologically driven interventions are part...

Originally appeared in The Australian

PUBLICATIONS

The Ramsay Centre And How Our Academic Appeasers Censor Students’ Right To Learn

Renee Gorman 22 June 2018 Education and skills, In the news,

The University of Sydney’s jellyback Vice-Chancellor Michael Spence has given many excuses for why he may not accept the money from the Ramsay Centre. He has explained that he ‘rejects the...

Originally appeared in The Spectator Australia

Education and Skills

Free Speech on Campus Audit 2018

Free Speech in Decline: IPA Free Speech On Campus Audit 2018

Literacy And Numeracy Skills Are Declining As Students Are Taught To Be More Politically Active

The Heavy Hand Of Free Speech

A Chance For Universities To Think Again

IPA Welcomes Robert French-Led Free Speech On Campus Inquiry

UTAS Risk To Freedom Of Expression And Human Rights

Minister’s Veto Exposes The Rot Within The Humanities

Reform ABC And Unis By Funding Cuts

Universities Have A Duty To Protect Free Speech

As Unis Stifle Free Speech, We Need A Law To Stop The Rot

Western Civilisation “Not Welcome Here”

University of Sydney Encourages Censorious Heckler’s Veto

National Curriculum Changes Should Sound Alarm Bells For Parents

Is Safetyism Destroying a Generation?

Universities Of The Closed Mind

University Regulator TEQSA Has Lost Its Way On Political Matters

The Ramsay Centre And How Our Academic Appeasers Censor Students’ Right To Learn

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Magna Carta – The Tax Revolt That Gave Us Liberty