Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 7 minutes ago
1335th Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture of the Royal Society of NSW — 1 October 2025
"Have universities become too political?"
The Honourable Bill Shorten, Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Canberra
in conversation with
Professor Merlin Crossley AM FRSN, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic Quality, UNSW Sydney
The presentation commences at 03:27
Timing Marks:
00:00:00 Introduction: Emeritus Professor Christina Slade FRSN, President, Royal Society of NSW
00:03:27 Panel Discussion: The Honourable Bill Shorten and Professor Merlin Crossley
01:00:18 Audience Q&A
01:22:26 Vote of Thanks: Emeritus Professor Christina Slade
01:26:04 Meeting Close
https://www.royalsoc.org.au/events/1335th-ogm-and-open-lecture/
Summary: Public and government support for universities remains strong in many countries in Asia, but there are concerns in some Western countries. In some places, governments are clashing with universities, while in others, the rising costs of education and research have triggered questions about whether students and the public are getting value for money.
Faced with funding the rising costs of operation in a technologically complex, competitive, and globalised world, university leaders sometimes go beyond their traditional roles as experts in learning and teaching and make promises about solving the world’s problems.
Is this working, and if not, how should public good, not-for-profit education and research institutions best communicate their missions and needs?
The accomplished political leader and now Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canberra, the Hon. Bill Shorten, will explore what universities are for and what they can do to best fulfil their important public roles. With perspectives from his time in politics, his time as a student, his knowledge of what Australians value, Bill Shorten is ideally placed to provide fresh insights into how we can ensure that Australian universities continue to be supported to deliver. In this event, Bill Shorten will converse with Merlin Crossley, an academic with decades of experience in leadership at Australian universities, as well as firsthand knowledge of teaching and research in the fast-moving field of molecular genetics.
Bill Shorten is well known in Australian public life for his leadership in politics, social reform, and now higher education. He served as the Leader of the Australian Labor Party and Opposition Leader from 2013 to 2019, contesting two federal elections. A key architect of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), Bill Shorten held multiple ministerial roles across governments led by Julia Gillard, Kevin Rudd, and Anthony Albanese, including portfolios in education, financial services, employment, government services, and the NDIS.
Before entering Parliament in 2007, Mr Shorten was the National Secretary of the Australian Workers’ Union, where he led Australia’s oldest union and served as a director of Australian Super. He holds degrees in arts and law from Monash University and an MBA from the University of Melbourne.
In January 2025, Bill Shorten transitioned from politics to academia, becoming Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Canberra (UC). His vision for UC centres on improving student experience, research impact, and community engagement to develop a modern Australian university that does not just react to society’s demands but anticipates them. He believes that education is the most powerful force for equality and democratic resilience.
Professor Merlin CrossleyMerlin Crossley is Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic Quality, at UNSW Sydney. His lab works on CRISPR gene editing to treat inherited blood diseases. He is known for characterising mutations that alter gene expression and cause Hemophilia B Leyden or the Hereditary Persistence of Fetal Hemoglobin, and for cloning new genes that modulate gene expression.
He has worked or studied at Melbourne, Monash, Oxford, Harvard, Sydney, and UNSW. He is an enthusiastic science communicator, Chair of the Editorial Board of The Conversation, Chair of UNSW Press, Deputy Director of the Australian Science Media Centre, an Honorary Associate of the Australian Museum, a member of the LifeBlood ethics committee, and a scientific advisor to Australian Sickle Cell Advocacy.
He has received multiple awards, including a Rhodes Scholarship, the 2020 NSW Premier’s Award for Medical Biological Science, and, in 2021, a new species of iridescent butterfly bobtail squid was named in his honour – Iridoteuthis merlini – Merlin’s bobtail squid.
1335th Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture of the Royal Society of NSW — 1 October 2025
"Have universities become too political?"
The Honourable Bill Shorten, Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Canberra
in conversation with
Professor Merlin Crossley AM FRSN, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic Quality, UNSW Sydney
The presentation commences at 03:27
Timing Marks:
00:00:00 Introduction: Emeritus Professor Christina Slade FRSN, President, Royal Society of NSW
00:03:27 Panel Discussion: The Honourable Bill Shorten and Professor Merlin Crossley
01:00:18 Audience Q&A
01:22:26 Vote of Thanks: Emeritus Professor Christina Slade
01:26:04 Meeting Close
https://www.royalsoc.org.au/events/1335th-ogm-and-open-lecture/
Summary: Public and government support for universities remains strong in many countries in Asia, but there are concerns in some Western countries. In some places, governments are clashing with universities, while in others, the rising costs of education and research have triggered questions about whether students and the public are getting value for money.
Faced with funding the rising costs of operation in a technologically complex, competitive, and globalised world, university leaders sometimes go beyond their traditional roles as experts in learning and teaching and make promises about solving the world’s problems.
Is this working, and if not, how should public good, not-for-profit education and research institutions best communicate their missions and needs?
The accomplished political leader and now Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canberra, the Hon. Bill Shorten, will explore what universities are for and what they can do to best fulfil their important public roles. With perspectives from his time in politics, his time as a student, his knowledge of what Australians value, Bill Shorten is ideally placed to provide fresh insights into how we can ensure that Australian universities continue to be supported to deliver. In this event, Bill Shorten will converse with Merlin Crossley, an academic with decades of experience in leadership at Australian universities, as well as firsthand knowledge of teaching and research in the fast-moving field of molecular genetics.
Bill Shorten is well known in Australian public life for his leadership in politics, social reform, and now higher education. He served as the Leader of the Australian Labor Party and Opposition Leader from 2013 to 2019, contesting two federal elections. A key architect of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), Bill Shorten held multiple ministerial roles across governments led by Julia Gillard, Kevin Rudd, and Anthony Albanese, including portfolios in education, financial services, employment, government services, and the NDIS.
Before entering Parliament in 2007, Mr Shorten was the National Secretary of the Australian Workers’ Union, where he led Australia’s oldest union and served as a director of Australian Super. He holds degrees in arts and law from Monash University and an MBA from the University of Melbourne.
In January 2025, Bill Shorten transitioned from politics to academia, becoming Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Canberra (UC). His vision for UC centres on improving student experience, research impact, and community engagement to develop a modern Australian university that does not just react to society’s demands but anticipates them. He believes that education is the most powerful force for equality and democratic resilience.
Professor Merlin CrossleyMerlin Crossley is Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic Quality, at UNSW Sydney. His lab works on CRISPR gene editing to treat inherited blood diseases. He is known for characterising mutations that alter gene expression and cause Hemophilia B Leyden or the Hereditary Persistence of Fetal Hemoglobin, and for cloning new genes that modulate gene expression.
He has worked or studied at Melbourne, Monash, Oxford, Harvard, Sydney, and UNSW. He is an enthusiastic science communicator, Chair of the Editorial Board of The Conversation, Chair of UNSW Press, Deputy Director of the Australian Science Media Centre, an Honorary Associate of the Australian Museum, a member of the LifeBlood ethics committee, and a scientific advisor to Australian Sickle Cell Advocacy.
He has received multiple awards, including a Rhodes Scholarship, the 2020 NSW Premier’s Award for Medical Biological Science, and, in 2021, a new species of iridescent butterfly bobtail squid was named in his honour – Iridoteuthis merlini – Merlin’s bobtail squid.
