Australian National University (ANU) chancellor Julie Bishop has hit back at accusations that she squandered money while the cash-strapped institution was retrenching staff, saying the A$800,000 (?394,000) spent on her Perth office returned more than 10 times the investment in philanthropic donations.

Bishop, a high-profile former politician based in Western Australia, said the decision to establish a Perth office had accorded with a ¡°vision¡± to present ANU as a genuinely national university with bases on both sides of the continent.

Times had changed, and the university now intended to close the office that ¡°we can no longer afford¡±, Bishop told a Senate estimates committee on 10 October. Nevertheless, the ¡°brilliant idea¡± had paid off thanks to the ¡°significant economic prowess¡± of her home state.

¡°We¡¯ve raised over A$10 million in¡­scholarships from individual philanthropists ¨C people who had no connection to the ANU, apart from my introduction to them in the ANU Perth office,¡± she told the committee.

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¡°[It] is not the chancellor¡¯s office, it¡¯s the ANU office, and academics and students and alumni¡­use it. A$10 million from the philanthropic community in Western Australia is a good return on investment.¡±

The committee heard that Bishop, a former Liberal Party education and foreign affairs minister, had required?16 times as much for her Perth digs as previous chancellor Gareth Evans ¨C a longstanding Labor foreign affairs minister ¨C had needed for his A$50,000 office in Melbourne.

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Bishop had also racked up a A$150,000 travel bill as the university pursued its ¡°Renew ANU¡± programme to save A$250 million by eliminating A$150 million in expenses and another A$100 million in salaries.

¡°When you¡¯re cutting jobs, cutting courses, attempting to freeze wages, is it appropriate for you to be spending enormous sums of money ¨C ANU money ¨C on yourself?¡± Labor senator Tony Sheldon asked.

Bishop told the committee that she had ¡°doubled down¡± on travel in 2023 and 2024, following almost three years of pandemic lockdowns. ¡°A significant part of my role, presumably because of my experience as a former foreign minister, was to build international networks and relationships for ANU, particularly with¡­philanthropic foundations from overseas.¡±

Sheldon highlighted concerns about the culture of the council and executive, ¡°inflexible work practices, unfair workloads, bullying, discrimination, lack of effective systems¡± and inadequate oversight of ANU¡¯s finances. ¡°This¡­all happened under your leadership,¡± he said. ¡°When are you going to take responsibility?¡±

¡°We know that there are some longstanding attitudes and cultures that must be changed, and we¡¯re doing everything we can to ensure that that occurs,¡± Bishop replied. ¡°As chair of the council, I take responsibility for the decisions of the council.¡±

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She categorically denied accusations of bullying and said she intended to complete her appointment, which concludes at the end of 2026. ¡°I believe I have an obligation to see through my term, and I have the support of council to do so.¡±

Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi said 2,000 ANU staff and students had signed a petition calling for the termination of Bishop¡¯s appointment. ¡°Do their views not matter to you? Are you only interested in the cabal of executives who back you?¡±

Faruqi accused interim vice-chancellor Rebekah Brown, previously the university¡¯s provost, of complicity in the ¡°disastrous¡± Renew ANU programme. Brown said her view ¨C that any restructure should be informed by a ¡°full academic plan and university strategy¡± ¨C had not been shared by the previous leadership.

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¡°Now I have the responsibility,¡± Brown told Faruqi. ¡°The first thing that we are doing is co-developing¡­our strategic direction, our strategy and our academic plan. If there are to be changes going forward, it will be informed by that strategy.¡±

ANU representatives were accused of misleading senators in previous hearings. Canberra senator David Pocock said law dean Anthony Connolly, who sits on the council in his capacity as head of the university¡¯s academic board, had been directed not to attend the August meeting in which bullying accusations had been raised.

Pocock had chided the university for failing to bring a single council member to the August hearing. Chief operating officer Jonathan Churchill had explained that the council members were ¡°much in demand¡± and had ¡°board commitments¡± in place. ¡°We did offer to be rescheduled when more members were available.¡±

¡°We now know that Professor Connolly was available ¨C [he] was just told not to attend,¡± Pocock said. ¡°Was there a directive from the vice-chancellor¡¯s office that Professor Connolly was not to attend, and you were to tell the Senate that everyone was busy?¡±

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¡°I was made aware that external members of council were not available to attend,¡± Church replied.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com