16 June 2021

Professor Alex Zelinsky AO

Vice-Chancellor and President
University of Newcastle

By email: vc@newcastle.edu.au

Dear Professor Zelinsky

Re: Appointment of the Hon Mark Vaile AO as Chancellor

I write in relation to the recent appointment of the Hon Mark Vaile AO as Chancellor of the University of
Newcastle.

I write to highlight my grave concerns with this appointment and echo the many publicly-aired
objections of members of the University of Newcastle community. Mr Vaile is chairman of Whitehaven
Coal and a prominent advocate for the perpetuation of the coal industry, which is driving the climate
crisis and killing the planet. The International Energy Agency has made it abundantly clear that if we
want to avoid climate catastrophe, we must immediately cease fossil-fuel expansion.

As a former university professor, I am strongly of the view that university leaders should reflect their
community and its future. By appointing the chair of a coal company as chancellor, Newcastle is doing
the exact opposite.

Universities have a huge role to play in tackling the climate crisis, developing new technologies and
ensuring a just transition for workers and communities to a post-carbon economy. Newcastle has a
proud history of excellent work in this regard, with solar power research a notable example. With that in
mind, I further note and echo the Newcastle branch of the National Tertiary Education Union’s
characterisation of Mr Vaile’s appointment as a “huge step backwards” for the university.

72 Campbell St Surry Hills NSW 2010

senator.faruqi@aph.gov.au
(02) 9211 1500
mehreenfaruqi.org.au
I trust and hope that with the valid backlash to this news by the University of Newcastle community, the
university council will reconsider the appointment. It is not too late, and vitally important, to chart a
different course.

Yours sincerely

Dr Mehreen Faruqi
Senator for NSW, Australian Greens Spokesperson for Education