June 12, 2018
As furore continues over the refusal of the vice chancellor of ANU to allow a sponsored course on western civilisation at the university, maverick KAP senator for Queensland Fraser Anning has spoken out in support of concerns expressed by the Australian Jewish Association.
“I strongly agree with the Australian Jewish Association president, David Adler,” Senator Anning said.
“Vice-chancellor Schmidt’s rejection of The Ramsey Institute’s proposed course on Western Civilisation is outrageous. It is nothing more than rank hypocrisy by ANU when they accept large donations from Dubai, Iran and Turkey for courses carefully tailored to give a sanitised version of Islam.”
“When Mirza Al-Sayegh, an adviser to the deputy ruler of Dubai, and former United Arab Emirates government minister Khalifa Bakhit Al-Falasi sit on the board of the centre for Arab and Islamic studies, to assert you are protecting academic autonomy by rejecting a course on Western Civilisation is nothing more than left-wing double standards.”
“If vice-chancellor Schmidt can’t make the tough decisions as he said he could when he took the job in 2015, then he should resign” Senator Anning said.
“To cave to the vocal minority and then hide behind the thin veil of “academic autonomy” appears to be nothing more than intellectual cowardice” Senator Anning said.
”This ongoing saga is nothing more than an attack by anti-Western elites on the very system that has given them the freedoms and opportunities they enjoy”
“Now vice-chancellor Schmidt has folded like an umbrella in the face left-wing student and academic unions, the fight has now moved to the University of Sydney and vice-chancellor Dr Spence is facing the same vitriolic attacks.”
“I urge vice-chancellor Dr Spence to duly consider The Ramsay Institutes proposed course and scholarships on Western Civilisation and not allow a vocal few extremists to determine the university’s syllabus.”
“The hysterical calls by leftist academics of “racism, European Supremacism and chauvinistic Western essentialism” amounts to rank hypocrisy from those who happily accept money from Chinese Communists, Islamic dictators and despot apologists.”
“Western civilisation has given the world plural liberal democracy, freedom of speech and action and the gift of material progress.”
“It is ironic that those who criticise the proposals for studies in Western civilisation are only able to do so because Western civilisation has given them the freedom to express their views,” Senator Anning Concluded.