FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Open Access Australasia (OAA) supports the joint stance taken by the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL), Universities Australia, and Universities New Zealand in their negotiations with academic publishers.
A broken system
For too long, universities have been locked into costly subscription deals that divert funding from learning, teaching and research. These agreements determine who can access knowledge and whose research is visible. Wealthier institutions get access. Smaller ones and the public often do not.
This system reduces bibliodiversity—the variety of voices, topics, and publishing models in research—by favoring established, profitable journals and mainstream subjects. Concentrating control in a few major publishers leads to uniformity, sidelining less common voices, languages, and local or experimental work, and limiting opportunities for diverse and independent scholarship to be published and accessed. Current publishing models also entrench existing inequities and restrict access to Indigenous research. Commercial paywalls put knowledge behind barriers that reinforce colonial systems. True equity means Indigenous researchers and communities control how their knowledge is shared.
A public interest issue
Most university research in this region is publicly funded. Yet the public must pay again to access it. That undermines the purpose of publicly funded research and limits its impact.
What needs to change
A fair deal must:
- Ensure pricing is transparent and fair
- Respect Indigenous data sovereignty and tikanga
- Remove financial barriers to accessing knowledge for publicly funded institutions
- Allow authors to retain all their rights
Regional leadership
Coordinated action works. Global deals with publishers show that it is possible to widen open access while managing costs. CAUL has already shown leadership in the regional context through CAUL consortia open access publishing agreements. The next step is to push these negotiations further, embedding equity, Indigenous data sovereignty, bibliodiversity and public good as core principles. Achieving meaningful progress requires active support and momentum from leadership at every level, from frontline management to national decision-makers.
“Knowledge is taonga. This is a moment to be bold and reset how research is shared,” said Kim Tairi (Waikato Tainui), Chair of Open Access Australasia. “We support CAUL, Universities Australia and Universities New Zealand in holding firm. Knowledge should serve communities, not corporate profit.”
Yet we must go further. It is vital that a diverse publishing ecosystem is able to thrive in the region. We would like to see regional support for Indigenous and researcher-led non-commercial (diamond) publishing platforms. We must continue to strive for a more inclusive, equitable research communication ecosystem that works for all.
As this whakataukī (proverb) reminds us: Whāia te iti kahurangi, ki te tuohu koe, me he maunga teitei. Seek the treasure you value most dearly. If you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain.
The treasure we seek is open, equitable knowledge. We stand for knowledge justice, inclusion and Indigenous knowledge sovereignty.
ENDS
Media contact: Kim Tairi (Waikato Tainui), Chair, Open Access Australasia, kim.tairi@aut.ac.nz
About Open Access Australasia: Open Access Australasia advocates for open access to research and education across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Learn more at https://oaaustralasia.org
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