Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move Greens amendment (1) on sheet 2465:

(1) Schedule 1, item 1, page 3 (after line 16), after paragraph 3(b), insert:

(ba) support Australian universities to attract and retain academic researchers and promote quality academic jobs; and

This amendment would make it an object of the ARC to support Australian universities to attract and retain academic researchers and promote quality academic jobs. There is a real and urgent need to address job insecurity, casualisation and the precarious nature of work, which is rife across universities and also across the research sector. Only one in four researchers is employed on a continuing basis and 80 per cent of researchers have been on fixed-term contracts of less than three years in length. As one of the largest funders of research, the ARC must play a role in addressing job insecurity, and this amendment gives the ARC an explicit opportunity and responsibility to do that, because a quality job is a secure job.

I do want to thank the National Tertiary Education Union for their work pushing for this change and other reforms to address job insecurity throughout the university sector, and I think Minister Clare and his office for their engagement on this amendment as well.