A university academic will not be compensated for the hurt and humiliation he claimed to suffer after being fired for posting a picture online of an Israeli flag with a Nazi symbol on it.
Tim Anderson knew the picture would be deeply offensive to many people when he posted it, however he should get his job back, a judge ruled on Monday.
He suffered “the usual amount” of distress in response to disciplinary action and the judge was not persuaded he had suffered the “psychological burden” claimed, given how willing he was to engage in “provocative and vigorous debate including of a personal nature and by expressing views known to be highly offensive to many people”.
“None of Dr Anderson’s posts were of a kind which demonstrated an individual whose feelings might easily be hurt,” Federal Court Justice Tom Thawley ruled, rejecting sought penalties against the institution but making a pending order for it to reinstate him.
Dr Anderson worked at the University of Sydney for more than two decades before he was dismissed from his position as a part-time senior lecturer in the Department of Political Economy in February 2019.
It followed two warnings from his employer in August 2017 and October 2018 regarding statements he made about journalists and politicians.
Read the article by Jack Gramenz in the Braidwood Times.