Richard Minack regrets not apologising to a former student who had suffered anti-Semitic bullying.

No punishment for swastika tic-tac-toe

A Melbourne student caught playing tic-tac-toe using swastikas was not punished by the school because it didn’t happen in front of Jewish students, a court has been told.

Brighton Secondary College principal Richard Minack has been giving evidence before a trial brought by five former students, who allege they suffered years of discrimination and bullying at the school.

The students are suing the school, Mr Minack, teachers and the state of Victoria, claiming they failed to protect them under the Racial Discrimination Act and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The respondents have denied all allegations brought against them.

Mr Minack was on Tuesday questioned about a rise in anti-Semitism at the school after he gave speeches to assembly about his father, who fought for Germany in World War II.

He delivered the speeches to combat anti-Semitism and racism at the school, after parents approached him and urged him to do something, the Federal Court heard.

But a couple of days after one speech a student was caught playing tic-tac-toe at the school, using nine swastikas.

Mr Minack said he was “unaware” of any punishment given to the student, who two years earlier had sent a video to a Jewish student of Adolf Hitler doing a Nazi salute.

Read the article by Emily Woods in The Canberra Times.