The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has called for the University of Sydney vice-chancellor, Mark Scott, to resign, saying he would do so if he had “any shred of integrity”.
The university has come under fire for its handling of protest camps set up on campus in opposition to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza after Hamas’s October 7 attack.
Jewish groups have been calling for Scott to resign after Jewish students said they were subjected to antisemitism and felt unsafe.
Scott apologised earlier this week, telling an inquiry into antisemitism that there were things the university could have done better. He said the university had acted on the complaints but had not called in police to remove the camps for fear of escalating tensions.
That inquiry was instigated by Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson, who has been critical of Scott for months and called for him to resign in June.
On 2GB on Thursday, host Ray Hadley asked Dutton if he could see Scott “surviving as the vice chancellor after he failed to get support from the chancellor, David Thodey”. The Australian reported on Tuesday that it had received a generic response to questions about whether Thodey continued to support Scott.
“No, I can’t,” Dutton said.
“Both Mark Scott and David Thodey should resign. If they had any shred of integrity, they would have resigned by now.
“They should, because there are people in the Jewish community, whether they’re academics or students who were … discriminated against, and they’ve been treated in a way that we wouldn’t accept any other group, regardless of their religion or background or race or whatever it might be, that they would be treated like that.
“So, Mark Scott’s admitted that they got it wrong, and they got it wrong well and truly. Both men were aware of the situation – even though they might deny it – and I don’t think their positions are tenable.”
Dutton called for Scott’s resignation in June, but Thodey was not the focus of criticism.
The vice chancellor role is similar to that of a chief executive officer, while the chancellor’s is similar to that of a chair.
The Australasian Union of Jewish Students has called for Scott’s resignation, and the Zionist Federation of Australia has called for a change in leadership. But the Jewish Council of Australia has said the “concerted campaign” against Scott was dangerous because it set a precedent for politicising universities and was “aimed at sending a clear warning to other universities to not allow Palestinian solidarity, discourse, or events,” its executive officer, Sarah Schwartz, said.
She also warned against conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
Scott, a former managing director of the ABC, started his five-year term in 2021.
The university said earlier this week it was working to ensure it was a safe place for staff and students, with the best governance possible. It will also assess its complaints handling processes. It has been contacted for a response from Scott and Thodey to Dutton’s comments.
