Women on top

Just one token male – Kurt Fearnley, the Paralympian. Oh well, presumably there have been hundreds of ferries named after men. It's no big deal rectifying that particular imbalance.

Where I do object, is the recent proposal floated at the ANU, which currently has a female Chancellor and Acting Vice Chancellor, seeking suggestions for new names to replace the titles of the university buildings named after men. Men like my father, the eminent economist H.W Arndt. Now that is surely going a step too far!

Even more concerning is the decision by another female Vice Chancellor, Queensland University of Technology's Margaret Sheil, to remove merit as the principal consideration in hiring staff. Sheil argued it was appropriate to move towards "more inclusive suitability assessment" which would focus on gender and ethnic background.

Sheil is the highest paid Queensland Vice Chancellor, but has been under fire for attacking "freedom of speech, diversity of thought and empowerment of teams and individuals" and for "a toxic culture of bullying and intimidation" leading to a situation where "most staff have lost all faith in the university".

And so it goes on. We have a situation where male university enrolments are plummeting across the country. Men are in the minority at all but two Australian universities and their share of enrolments has fallen to a record low. The latest 2022 data shows that for the first time male students made up less than 40 per cent of domestic enrolments. Even though male participation has been declining for years, the education department is now suggesting more men are actively choosing not to go to university – downplaying the fact that education is failing so many boys who don't get the requisite school results or drop out of school.

The fact remains that our universities are making zero effort to determine why males may not be interested in a university education. They remain obsessed with getting more women into their top jobs and providing female only job positions and scholarships. Clearly feminist goals trump any concern about males feeling unwelcome in tertiary institutions.

Then there's the family court system which is currently grappling with the impact of the new family law legislation, which so clearly discriminates against fathers. You might have thought this isn't exactly the best time to introduce a swag of female judges. But no. An astonishing 23 of the 28 newly appointed judges in Federal and Family Courts have been female.

Sure, many of these women may prove excellent judges, doing their jobs with scrupulous fairness. But the Family Court has an absolutely lousy reputation due to persistent bias against men – as evidenced by the dismal failure over the last half century to enforce orders enabling fathers to see their children, as a starter.

For anyone with the slightest concern about cleaning up this toxic mess, merit-based promotion into top jobs should be an absolute no brainer.