Australian National University Criticised for Overturning Expulsion of Pro-Hamas Student: Inquiry

People walk past a Gaza solidarity encampment inside the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, on June 14, 2024. George Calvelo/Getty Images

The Australian National University (ANU) has been criticised for reinstating a student expelled for supporting Hamas.

When the pro-Palestine encampment movement arrived at the ANU in April 2024, Beatrice Tucker, a student and member of the encampment, made headlines for stating during a radio interview that Hamas deserved “our unconditional support.”

Hamas, a Palestinian militia group that controls Gaza, has been designated a terrorist organisation by the United States and Western governments, including Australia.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas launched a brutal attack on Israel’s territory, resulting in over 1,200 deaths and sparking a war between the two sides.

Tucker’s comment caused the university to take disciplinary action against her. She was suspended shortly after and eventually expelled in June 2024.

However, in September 2024, the ANU reversed its decision and reinstated Tucker after she appealed.

Following her reinstatement, Tucker ran for the student association president position.

ANU Questioned for Reinstating Tucker

At a recent parliamentary inquiry hearing on antisemitism at Australian universities, the ANU leadership was questioned about why the expulsion was revoked.

ANU Vice-Chancellor Genevieve Bell said she did not comment on individual cases, but noted the university could overturn previous decisions on multiple grounds.

“They [the decisions] can be overturned because new material has come to light,” she told the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights.

“They can be overturned because of a procedural irregularity.

“They can be overturned because there is a sense that the process was not appropriately applied in any particular circumstance.”

Jewish Labor MP Josh Burns, the committee chair, asked how the ANU could give students more confidence when it allowed student protestors who glorified a terrorist organisation to remain with the university.

In response, Bell said her university’s policy was to seek a balance in a number of things.

“We'll seek to balance academic freedom and freedom of speech with the well-being of our community,” she said.

“We'll seek to balance academic free academic speech, and freedom of speech with psychosocial harm, and we will continue to work through making sure that we have an appeal process–a process that’s purpose fit for the 21st century.”

However, Burns rejected the vice-chancellor’s comment.

“I fail to see how academic freedom is affected or in any way involved when a student is doing a Nazi salute or glorifying a terrorist organisation on the national radio and then allowed to run for your student presidency,” he said.

A Gaza solidarity encampment is seen during a pro-Palestinian protest inside the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, on June 14, 2024. George Calvelo/Getty Images

Education Minister Says ANU’s Decision Not Appropriate

During an interview with the media on Jan. 28, federal Education Minister Jason Clare was asked whether it was appropriate for the ANU to reinstate Tucker.

The minister said “no” and made his position clear on the issue of antisemitism.

“I make the general point, whether it’s at ANU or whether it’s at QUT [Queensland University of Technology], that there is absolutely no place for the poison of antisemitism in our universities or anywhere in this country or anywhere in the world,” he told reporters.

“There is a commemoration that’s just happened of the 80th Anniversary of the Holocaust and Auschwitz.

“You know, in the lifetime of our grandparents we’ve all seen the true terror of what antisemitism can wreak and there is no place for it, and that’s why I’ve made it very clear to every university leader in the country that they must enforce their codes of conduct.”

At the same time, Clare said that the government has finalised the member list of an expert council, which is responsible for advising education ministers about how to improve university governance and performance.

Pro-Palestinian Encampments Cost ANU $850,000

Bell also informed the Committee of the financial impacts of the pro-Palestinian encampments organised by students between April and August 2024.

“That encampment cost an additional approximately $850,000 (US$530,000) to manage.” she said.

The vice-chancellor explained that the money was used to provide a number of things, such as ensuring the security of students who slept overnight onsite.

“Making sure that people were safe mattered. Making sure people were physically safe was important,” she said.

“We maintain a quite strong security force, [and] work safety group on our campus.”

Bell said the ANU had around 7,000 students living on campus, which was the highest in the sector, and that the university had a duty to take care of those students.