Meeting commenced at 1pm
Present: Robert McLachlan (Massey), Tim Ryley (Griffith), Kim Blackmore (Australian National), Sal Lampkin (Chair, Massey), Jan Evans-Freeman, Susanne Becken, Karin Rhoda (minute taking)
Apologies: Sylvia Nissen (Lincoln), Anita Wreford (Lincoln) Brendan Moyle (Massey), Lynda Johnston (Waikato), Quentin Atkinson (Auckland), Gillian Lewis (Auckland)
ANU 50% cap update
The dashboard created around travel data will be going out on public web before the end of the year. The team has also informed the colleges of the initiative and have offered to support a process to agree on how to address this. Five groups has signed up and times are being set to kick off the initiative. No data is available on the reaction to the 50% reduction target yet. There has been no vocal resistance to the change.
Travel guidelines
Will resend survey to all members and get this started for next year.
Exception-ism
There are two options for the group on where or how to release this piece. Either as a press opinion piece – data would not be so important. One of the members will reach out to their contact at the Gaurdian. If this is unsucessful, this will be rolled over to next year.
The second option is a published Academic paper. It would be very important to get relevant data to support the piece if the group moves forward with this option. The opinion piece will focus on the Academic sector. A very important aspect would be to have an example of an University leader who has committed to change. The following links where shared https://www.kth.se/profile/wouter, https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/lets-use-person-conferences-interaction-not-presentation
COP (Conference of the Parties) can also be used as an example.
TPCC (Tourism Panel on climate Change) launching online on Monday. They have opted to not to go to COP.
Funding Bodies Meeting
We have not yet succeded in including the Australian funding bodies. Overall the meeting on 14 November was successful. The Meeting minutes will be circulated. The NZ Funding bodies are working well together and can see the benefit of including the Australian funding bodies. There are various channels to use when approaching the Australian Funding bodies which will be considered. The next NZ Funding bodies Meeting is 1 March 2024.
Future of AUATC
There is a solid foundation and all members agree it is viable to move forward with the consortium. It would be good to focus on a strong collective voice for next year and look at the working model used the last 2 years to identify if this is still effective.
Since the consortium started there has been good progression for the universities individually. With the Funding Bodies work progressing, it is relevant to consider the influence of other stakeholders on international air travel patterns. For example, academics working with Tourism bodies to increase travel to NZ. The group will focus on bringing about change within their own organisations and the Tertiary sector, before looking elsewhere. It has been more difficult than anticipated to stay informed of what universities globally are working on.
Ideally there should be two or more representatives from each University in the AUATC and members send a Proxy if they are unable to attend. This will reduce delays in the work the AUATC is doing. It would be useful to have a shared document that members complete before each meeting with an update on what has been happening at their respective universities.
Chair and membership fees
The AUATC website was cancelled on 1 Dec 2023 due to a lack of funding. The cost is $162 for one year. A decision was made when the website was established to refrain from using a University website to keep the AUATC independence. The group has made a decision to rotate the Chair role annually and the university they are affiliated with, will cover the website hosting fees. Susanne Becken is to take over with immediate effect, and reinstate the website, followed by Robert MacLachlan in 2025.
Date of next meeting
Wednesday, 7 Feb 2024, 1-2pm (NZST)