Last August, transport and planning lecturer Dr Paul Mees bluntly criticised the authors of a 2007 Department of Transport report on privatisation.
Then, on May 20 this year, the Age reported that “Melbourne University has demoted one of its most outspoken academics after a complaint against him by the State Government…”.
The University should have investigated the veracity of Mees’ comments BEFORE action of any sort was contemplated, but it removed the podcast of his presentation from the University website without even consulting him first or informing him of the official complaint.
It is a sad day when an institution like Melbourne University can’t defend one of its own who speaks out in the public interest about government practices. Was there a conflict of interest between defending Mees and the ‘spirit of partnership’ between the University and the Government?
For the University’s legal eagle to claim that Mees’ defense (he claimed to be simply revealing the truth) should be dismissed without any attempt at verification is extraordinary, given that in Victoria truth is a legitimate defense in defamation law.
Alleged complaints about other forthright comments by Dr Mees – upon which no action was apparently taken – now appear to have been resurrected to bolster the University’s case to discipline him for ‘bringing the University’s name into disrepute’!
How can the university actually think this? For those of us involved in issues of planning and public transport, Dr Mees has been breath of fresh air – he has brought CREDIT to the University! Anyone who’s every listened to a Mees presentation knows that he is a powerful voice for reason and factual integrity, delivered with a wry humour that leaves his audiences rolling in the aisles. (check out this presentation by Mees on Victoria’s planning mess!)
Save Our Suburbs and Dr Mees share similar concerns and opinions about town planning and infrastructure and we are deeply concerned at any sort of government interference in the expression of academic opinion, especially in an obvious attempt to silence one of the most effective champions of good governance.
Does anyone find it ironic that Dr Mees is to be demoted for speaking out while one of the people who wrote the report he criticised has been promoted?