Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Greens Leader and Education spokesperson, has slammed Sydney University for accepting funding from the gambling industry to establish a new research centre and called on them to hand the money back.
As stated by Senator Mehreen Faruqi:
"Sydney University accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from some of the world's biggest gambling companies and casinos to bankroll a new gambling research centre- this stinks to high heavens!
"This is a shocking example of a morally bankrupt, ruthless industry getting its dirty tentacles into university and research institutions.
"These sorts of partnerships are just one toxic feature of the broken corporate university model.
"Sydney University needs to hand back the money and rule out any future partnerships with the gambling industry, which only serve to launder the industry's reputation at the expense of research integrity.
"Ultimately, the corporate university model needs to go and the government must provide a big boost to public funding - including to research funding - to set unis up for the long term. Universities are a public good and should be treated as such."
