ANU axes arts faculty staff
By Will Williams
CANBERRA — An announcement was made in an ANU arts faculty meeting on May 11 that a further 12 staff would be axed from the faculty. The decision was made by the ANU council despite a student and staff picket, and a "sea of degrees" on the ANU chancellery lawns.
In the last two years, the faculty has lost 16% of its academics, 24% of its support staff and its Russian department. The new cut will leave it with only 87 staff. Contact hours have already been significantly reduced in various subjects.
The faculty's dean is blaming the cuts on federal government budget cuts. All universities have suffered from the Howard government's cuts, but this excuse cannot be used by the ANU administration. Doug Kelly, president of the ANU branch of the National Tertiary Education and Industry Union, has stated that university management is sitting on a nest egg of $40 million.
The ANU education department has organised a number of actions against the cuts. A student strike will take place on May 20, with a rally at 1pm in Union Court.