Chewing DFAT: Howard's government takes exception to academic dissent

The Australian Financial Review has a story today by Peter Roberts that brings to mind the "Academic hit list" published in the US by a conservative money bag. Except in this case its the Howard government taking on a Macquarie Graduate School of Management professor.

Unfortunately, AFR has put this story on its fee-only list and not even I, a subscriber, can bring it up online with paying for it. So, I'll have to let my fingers do the talking, so fogive me for typos.

Evidently, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was invited to attend an "executive breakfast", which presumeably involved some sort of open discussion, arranged by John Mathews, professor of strategic management at MGSM. DFAT staff were defatigable and declined to attend.

Perhaps it was the time of day, perhaps it was Professor Mathews, co-author of the book, How to Kill a Country: Australia's Devastating Trade Deal with the United States, which "attacks the trade agreement as a betrayal of Australia's interests." Whatever it was, DFAT didn't want to involve themselves in a discussion with Prof Mathews and his colleagues and guests.

I'm not sure if they returned their RSVP with regrets.

But they did write to the Dean of MGSM to express their regrets at Prof Mathews' views.

DFAT First Assistant Secretary Jeremy Newman "wrote to MGSM dean Roy Green to say the department was 'familiar with the views of these academics.... Whilst the department welcomes open debate on the merits of free trade in general, and also of particular free trade agreements, we believe it is important to state that many of the views expressed by the authors ... are either factually incorrect or draw incorrect conclusions from the facts'."

Specifically, 1st ass sec Newman said Mathews was wrong on his claims that the US/Aus FTA would "open the way for the introduction of agricultural pests and diseases and had weakened Australia's position on mad cow disease."

Phew, I was afraid someone might have objected to the oppressive copyright provisions.

Dean Green said the university "was committed to stimulating discussion", but "[a]t best this is unhelpful advice from a government official on how we should conduct our series of breakfast meetings."

1st ass sec Newman took a dim view of academic dissent. He said "that he must disagree with Professor Mathews' contention that 'the outlines of the new subservient role to be played by Australian businesses are coming into clear relief... The government is of the view that inward investment is beneficial to the Australian economy and it is somewhat surprising that the Macquarie Graduate School of Management would take a different view'."

Dean Green said, "yeah, well, d'uh!" No he didn't. He said, "he was at a loss to explain the menaing of that comment as 'only a mug would be against foreign investment'."

I've got a copy of the story here in my office, at least until the cleaners take it away, if you want to read the whole story. But I'll charge you $5 to see it. It'd be a little cheaper if you buy the story online. It's entitled, "DFAT rebukes graduate school over trade views", 7 April 2005, by Peter Roberts.