Ex-Labor leader Bill Shorten named as Canberra vice-chancellor

Former federal Labor Party leader and union boss Bill Shorten has been named next head of the University of Canberra in a move that “breaks the mould” of Australian vice-chancellor appointments.

Mr Shorten, who is currently minister for government services and the National Disability Insurance Scheme, will take up his new role in February.

Canberra said a seven-person selection committee had “unanimously” chosen Mr Shorten after an “exhaustive search and a rigorous merit-based selection process”.

“His advocacy for people with disability and for all who need support sits perfectly with a university that hopes to be the most accessible in Australia,” said chancellor Lisa Paul, who chaired the selection committee.

Mr Shorten said he looked forward to joining a university that had been rated best in the world for reducing inequalities, and where 40 per cent of graduates were the first in their families to obtain degrees.

“That was my mum’s story,” he said. “To me, this is the fair go in action. Education is the modern means of taking someone from disadvantage to advantage in a way nothing else in society can do. Universities have a critical role here.”

Mr Shorten’s move mirrors that of former New Zealand deputy prime minister Grant Robertson, who retired from politics in February before becoming vice-chancellor of the University of Otago.

While former high-ranking politicians often head Australian universities’ governing bodies, it is relatively rare for them to join university executives. However, other institutions have recently appointed vice-chancellors from outside academia.

The University of Sydney chose former journalist, media administrator and civil servant Mark Scott as its leader in early 2021. Charles Sturt University followed suit several months later with the appointment of senior civil servant Renée Leon.

John Dewar, interim vice-chancellor of the University of Wollongong and long-time leader of La Trobe University, said Mr Shorten’s appointment “breaks the mould” in “an exciting and innovative way”.

“Bill will inject new skills and new thinking into the tertiary sector and its peak bodies and bring new dynamism to public debates about tertiary education in Australia,” Professor Dewar said.

Former chief scientist and Australian National University vice-chancellor Ian Chubb hailed the “bold but inspired” choice. “Bill’s long record of commitment to people, to building a better Australia, to consulting and listening before acting, will stand the University of Canberra well.”

Queensland University of Technology vice-chancellor Margaret Sheil also welcomed the appointment. “At a time when the sector continues to have challenges with both sides of politics it will be good to have someone with Bill’s experience in the mix for Universities Australia.”

Lachlan Clohesy, Australian Capital Territory secretary of the National Tertiary Education Union, said Mr Shorten’s “first act” as vice-chancellor should be to pursue a “comprehensive and transparent review of UC governance”.

“Bill Shorten needs to know what he is walking into,” Dr Clohesy said. “UC’s previous vice-chancellor received an unexplained A$700,000 [£358,000] pay increase at a time when the university is financially starving. UC’s current senior executive are cutting courses and units, and have blown their forecast deficit out by another A$10 million following an increase in spending on consultants by A$9.5 million in 2023. Governance reform is necessary and overdue.”

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com