Statement by UNE Vice-Chancellor Professor Chris Moran:
"Australian university ties to Israel have been brought into sharp focus by the recent actions taken by student protests across the nation, calling for declaration and divestment of ties to Israel in light of the Israel Palestine war.
UNE is not an exception, with community members using social media and other means to call for UNE to disclose and divest ties to Israel and military contractors.
As previously indicated, I have taken a balanced approach and asked UNE’s Finance and Procurement teams to check for any interactions that we may have with either Palestine or Israel, or with defence related industries.
This examination confirms that UNE has no contracts with or exposure to companies directly related to Israel or Palestine. Further, upon enquiry across our investments our involvement with any defence-related entities, via bundled activities, does not exceed 0.03% of our portfolio.
I reiterate that UNE supports the rights of staff and students to express opposing opinions on world events.
The safety and wellbeing of our staff and students, and indeed all members of our community, is our priority."
More information can be found here on our Freedom of Speech Rule and Academic Freedom statement, and Freedom of Speech policy.
