Under the stained-glass ceiling of the National Gallery of Victoria,guests were treated to a three-course meal and a performance by acclaimed singer Kate Ceberano.
Monash University threw a lavish going away party for outgoing VC Margaret Gardner in the NGV’s great hall.Twitter
A portrait of Gardner,now the governor of Victoria,was unveiled,though not included in the final price tag for the night.
Documents recently released to the staff union under freedom of information laws and provided toThe Age reveal the July party in the NGV’s great hall cost $127,134 in total.
One attendee who asked not to be named described the event as “very lavish”,with a few hundred guests enjoying “food,wine and cocktails all night”.
“Kate was one of[Gardner’s] favourites apparently,so she and other artists played. There were lots of bigwigs there,like politicians. Not heaps of staff,though. At least not outside management.”
Margaret Gardner (left) and Monash chancellor Simon McKeon with her portrait at the NGV event.Twitter
It comes as the university contests a multimillion-dollar from casual academics in the federal court. The university has already settled a previous $10 million backpay bill from staff but lost a bid to head off this second claim – by – last year.
Monash University said staff,alumni,donors and others with a connection to the university were among those invited,to celebrate Gardner’s “significant impact during her nine years” as VC. It was also a chance to acknowledge staff contributions too,a spokesman said.
The university council wasn’t required to sign off on the party budget and venue. But the spokesman said all the usual expenditure protocols were followed,and the cost “was commensurate with the last vice chancellor Professor Edward Byrne’s farewell”.
Gardner’s portrait was commissioned separately by the university and will hang in Robert Blackwood Hall on campus,alongside other artworks of former vice chancellors.
Ben Eltham,Monash branch president for the National Tertiary Education Union,said staff were surprised that the party was held at the gallery and not Blackwood or one of the university’s other entertainment venues,which are themselves often hired out.
“Management has completely lost touch,” he said. “Student satisfaction is,wage theft happened but here they are having glitzy parties.”
The university’s internal policies for spending are strict,and Eltham said a number of staff had been “hauled over the coals” of late for even minor infractions. “Like buying $11 gifts or previously approved spending as part of their research grants,” he said.
The office of the governor said Gardner was not involved in organising the event and referred questions to the university.
At Monash,Gardner was,whose salaries regularly double or triple that of prime ministers and premiers.
The university a $113 million deficit last year,but also donated $116 million to its own Monash Foundation,a charity that generates investment income for the university.
Among the speakers praising Gardner at the farewell do was Monash Chancellor Simon McKeon AO,also a non-executive director at Rio Tinto,who has of her “significant legacy of growth and achievement”.
Margaret Gardner speaking at her farewell party at the NGV in July 2023.Twitter
Gardner “elevated the university’s international standing”,the Monash spokesman said,seeing it rise through world rankings to break into the top 50 universities globally.
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare hasuniversity councils,which are at times accused of running public institutions like corporations,and a new plan to make universities “exemplary employers” will be presented to state education ministers by an expert working group in April.
Meanwhile,at Monash, on campus,Eltham said,as staff push for improvements to pay,workloads and during long-running negotiations for the next enterprise bargaining agreement.
Kate Ceberano’s management has been contacted for comment.
