Director's Message
Published in the RSAA Lunations
Vol1 Issue5 1–30 June 2020
The coronavirus pandemic is casting a long shadow over many aspects of our lives. Even as the disease appears to be ebbing in Australia and the shut-down is gradually easing, we remain watchful for a second wave. Thus the very welcome partial opening of the whole ANU campus starting on 2 June, including the RSAA sites at Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring, is proceeding cautiously. The MSO re-start plan and the SSO re-start plan outline the specific precautionary measures being taken to minimise the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak in our community. RSAA staff are asked to continue working from home unless they have a specific reason to be on campus; if they choose to work on-site at MSO or SSO they must comply with the procedures outlined in the plans.
The longer-term effect of the pandemic on all aspects of the Australian economy is reflected in the university sector, which is particularly impacted by the international travel bans and has received no government stimulus. The consequence, as outlined in the VC’s recent email to all staff (see also the ANU financial health FAQs page), is that the University needs to make $100M in savings over the remaining 6 months of 2020. The basis for these savings is being developed through a new Expenditure Control Framework. As more details of the ECF become available, I will be sharing them and consulting with RSAA staff to determine the best options for the School to achieve the required savings. The focus will be on preserving jobs and supporting people to carry out RSAA's core missions in research and education. In this respect, I have been greatly encouraged by the generous offers of assistance and suggestions for smart savings that people have volunteered, which demonstrate yet again how RSAA staff care for each other and are prepared to make individual sacrifices for the collective good. We are indeed all in this together.
‘In this together’ was also the theme of National Reconciliation week, which ended on 3 June. The Black Lives Matter marches over this past weekend remind us forcefully that reconciliation is needed now more than ever. Racism continues to be a serious problem in Australia, as any look at the appalling statistics on Indigenous deaths in custody or Indigenous health outcomes demonstrates. At ANU, and within RSAA, we need to do better in supporting greater diversity amongst our staff and students and in helping to reform the wider Australian culture. "Every crisis is also an opportunity”, so let’s seize the opportunities offered by the current crises to make changes for the better in our School, our University, and our country.
