Minister Blocks Alleged Name Change Push, Urges James Cook University to Focus on Education

The Queensland LNP government will overhaul the governance of James Cook University (JCU) amid reports the institution was considering a potential name change.

Captain James Cook is a renowned British explorer who circumnavigated and charted the coastlines of Australia and New Zealand in 1770.

The move follows reports earlier this year that university administrators had established a reference committee for a possible name change to JCU.

Yet Queensland Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek said legislative amendments to the James Cook University Act 1997 would bring the university “back in line” with other public universities in the state.

“These amendments increase transparency and public trust by reshaping the governance structure to coordinate it with the way others already operate,” he told The Epoch Times.

“Progressing these changes ensures the new governing body represents a broad range of skills, experiences, and perspectives.

“JCU should continue to focus on delivering a world-class education to their students, rather than contemplating a name change.”

Cook’s legacy has been targeted in recent years with the repeated vandalising of his statues, particularly on Australia Day on Jan. 26.

For example, in 2022, a statue of Cook in Melbourne was sprayed with red paint and plastered with anti-Australia Day signs.

University Says Committee Not Aimed at Name Change

JCU has denied such plans were ever in play.

A spokesperson told The Epoch Times that “continued media mischaracterisation” was to blame.

“As previously stated, JCU’s council established a reference committee solely to develop principles and process guidance that would apply if council were ever asked to consider such a matter in the future,” they said.

“The committee is not examining alternatives, is not recommending any change, is not undertaking consultation, and there is no proposal before the university.

“Characterising this governance work as an active name change process is inaccurate and misleading.”

The JCU representative also said they were concerned the LNP government acted on media reporting.

“Governance arrangements should be considered on their merits and in a manner consistent with established principles of institutional autonomy and good governance across the higher education sector, particularly at a time when these matters are the subject of national policy consideration,” they said.

“Our identity is grounded in our region, our communities, and our contribution, not in speculative or hypothetical debates.”

JCU has previously renamed some of its campuses.

Its Mount Isa campus was named Murtupuni after the local Aboriginal dialect, while the university’s Townsville campus was named Bebegu Yumba, and Thursday Island was rebranded as Ngulaigau Mudh.