By Will Cassell
Four more members of the ANU Council have resigned today, according to reporting by the Sydney Morning Herald.
Tanya Hosch, Wayne Martin, Padma Raman and Rob Whitfield tendered their resignations. They are believed to be “loyalists” to former Chancellor Julie Bishop and former Vice-Chancellor Genevieve Bell, according to the SMH.
Hours before their resignations, Council members were provided with access to an independent internal report which examined allegations made at Senate Estimates in August last year, according to the SMH.
The report, conducted by Dr Vivienne Thom AM, found five adverse findings against members of the Council who had resigned before Friday 8 May.
In an email to staff and students, the ANU said, “[w]e do not want the matters investigated by Dr Thom to occur again”.
“The Council commits to fully implementing Dr Thom’s recommendations and to building trust and confidence in the ANU.”
The implosion of appointed Council members follows calls for all of them to resign.
“The ANU cannot meet its objectives while being undermined by self-serving council members putting themselves above this institution,” said demographer and former ANU Council member, Dr Liz Allen during a press conference of ANU students, staff, and politicians earlier this month.
The ANU Council is now left with two out of seven of its ministerial-appointed members, Larry Marshall and Andrew Metcalfe.
These members were all appointed by Federal Education Minister, Jason Clare, following the recommendation of Julie Bishop during her tenure as Chancellor.
Alison Kitchen AM resigned from Council as an appointed member around two weeks ago, on 25 April 2026. She was led to resign by the intervention of the national tertiary education regulator, TEQSA, according to reporting by the SMH.
In her resignation as Chancellor last week, Julie Bishop also expressed concern about the “unprecedented and coordinated interference” of TEQSA.
“The higher education sector is at a crossroads of regulatory overreach in the governance of our institutions or autonomy and academic freedom.”
In a statement following Ms Bishop’s resignation, the ANU Students’ Association said, “[t]he past two years have been among the darkest in the university’s history”.
TEQSA is due to release their independent governance review in the coming weeks.
A further report, from The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO), is due to release this month as well. A draft of the report alleged that the ANU was not in an immediate financial crisis at the time of the ANU Council approving a cut of $250 million across the university in Renew ANU.
The federal government workers’ compensation insurer, Comcare, also began “monitoring and compliance activity” in the College of Arts and Social Sciences last year.
More to come.
Graphic by Shé Chani
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