Law professor at centre of leaked email controversy claims University of Melbourne suspended him because of his political opinion
Guardian Australia on Saturday revealed that Dr Eric Descheemaeker is suing Australia's top-ranked university for discrimination. The legal action comes after a 2023 email written by Descheemaeker to the then head of the Melbourne Law School (MLS) was leaked and posted around the university's Parkville campus last month.
Descheemaeker alleged the University of Melbourne had taken adverse action against him by suspending his employment due to his 'political opinion', court documents show.
Descheemaeker argued this is in contravention of section 351 of the Fair Work Act, which stipulates an employer must not take adverse action against an employee because of a range of attributes including a person's race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, religion or political opinion.
Sign up: AU Breaking News email
Descheemaeker alleged the university will terminate his employment because of his political opinion unless it is 'restrained from doing so'.
The federal circuit and family court heard on Friday the university would not terminate Descheemaeker's employment or take any adverse action until his injunction application had been determined.
Descheemaeker also alleged the university has breached section 340 of the legislation, which says a person must not take adverse action against another person because the other person has a workplace right or has, or has not, exercised a workplace right.
Asked why the university has suspended Descheemaeker, a spokesperson referred to a previous statement by the dean of MLS, Prof Michelle Foster.
'Professor Descheemaeker is an employee of the university and it would be improper to comment on this employment matter,' Foster told Guardian Australia last week.
Descheemaeker's leaked August 2023 email was sent in response to the announcement of an Indigenous cultural safety review at the university. MLS was 'celebrating the 'noble savage'', he wrote in the email, likening the law school to an 'ideological re-education camp'.
Descheemaeker wrote that there was 'absolutely no end to where 'Blak' activists are meaning to take us – except destruction'.
In an email sent to MLS staff last month, Foster said 'sensitive correspondence' from August 2023 had recently been posted on campus noticeboards and social media.
Sign up to Breaking News Australia
Get the most important news as it breaks
after newsletter promotion
'I acknowledge that staff and students who read the notices may have been offended or upset by its contents,' Foster said in the email, viewed by Guardian Australia.
Foster said the university had taken immediate steps to remove the correspondence and was investigating how it came to be posted on campus.
'I affirm my steadfast commitment to supporting a diverse, multi-cultural and multi-faith community.'
She said she was committed to ensuring cultural safety at the MLS and supported the 'important work under way in this regard'.
Last week, Descheemaeker's lawyer said their client was unable to comment at this stage. The interlocutory application will be heard on 9 September.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
17 minutes ago
- Reuters
Australia eyes more US exports as Trump holds tariffs at 10%
SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Australian products could become more competitive in the U.S. market, helping businesses boost exports, Trade Minister Don Farrell said on Friday, after U.S. President Donald Trump kept the minimum tariff rate of 10% for Australia. Trump set higher import duties of 10% to 41% starting in seven days for 69 trading partners including a 35% duty on many goods from Canada, 50% for Brazil and 15% for Australia's south Pacific neighbour New Zealand. "What this decision means in conjunction with all of the other changes to other countries is that Australian products are now more competitive into the American market," Farrell told reporters in Adelaide. "We will assist all of our exporters in ensuring we take advantage of this situation and increase the volume of exports." New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay said he was hoping to have talks with his U.S. counterparts. "The first step will be to talk to them directly. And we've engaged in a lot. In fact, it's been very good engagement," he told Radio New Zealand. Trump's decision to put Australia among countries facing the lowest tariff levels will be a relief for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after the opposition criticised him for not meeting the U.S. president in person. But Farrell said Australia's negotiations helped it to retain the baseline tariff rate. "This is a vindication for the Albanese government and particularly the prime minister in the cool and calm way we have conducted diplomacy with the United States," Farrell said. Australia last week eased restrictions on beef imports from the United States, potentially smoothing trade talks with Trump, although Albanese said the decision had long been considered and was not related to any trade negotiations.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Heartbroken fiancée of suspected gangland figure gunned down in a targeted execution breaks her silence with heartbreaking three-word post
The devastated fiancée of a young man shot dead in a 'targeted' daylight shooting has broken her silence with a poignant three-word message. Athan Boursinos, 21, is suspected of being linked to the execution of underworld figure Sam 'The Punisher' Abdulrahim on January 28. He was shot dead near a kindergarten in Melbourne 's outer north on Thursday. His fiancée, Sanaria Rofael, was pictured sobbing at the scene as detectives began their investigation, wearing a maroon tracksuit and holding a Fendi handbag. 'I miss you,' she posted on Instagram just hours after his death, alongside a carousel of images of the pair. 'I would do anything in this world to feel this with you again. I will never stop loving you, you showed me what love was. I love you so much. I will see you soon. 'You're the best person I have ever met with the best soul. 'I can't wait to see you and hold you again.' She shared a video of the pair holding hands to the Lana Del Rey song Young And Beautiful and captioned it: 'This was our wedding song.' Boursinos had his fiancée's name tattooed in large red letters down one arm and the words 'the souls I have taken will never haunt me... only the ones I haven't' in large letters on the side of his neck. The pair had been engaged for over a year before Boursinos' sudden death. Ms Rofael shared a series of photos of her engagement ring, bouquets of roses and Louis Vuitton handbags on a highlight reel titled 'I love you' on her Instagram. 'Nobody's promised tomorrow,' she wrote. Detectives admitted Boursinos' murder appeared to be 'very deliberate and obviously targeted' and that he had been 'known' to police before his death. The 21-year-old was due to appear in court on Thursday and is believed to have been on his way there when his assassins struck. Daily Mail previously revealed Boursinos had been facing drug and weapon possession offences, theft of a vehicle and other driving offences. Images given to the Daily Mail revealed the well-dressed dead man's body lying beside a grey BMW with the driver door open and the engine apparently still running. A neighbour said her brother heard eight shots ring out and ran to see the man's last breaths before he died. 'My brother did hear the shots and he went and saw him still moving until he lost his life,' the neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said. 'Straight away he went out [toward the deceased man], I think the neighbour next door also talked to him. We were able to see the body from our backyard, I have shown [footage] to the police.' She added: '[The dead man] has been living around here. Sometimes there's issues where police get involved, cars sometimes come, young people always around. 'We don't know him personally - we just know him as neighbours.' Homicide squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said police believed there was a confrontation between two men in Game Lane just before 9am. The gunman shot and killed the man in the laneway before fleeing in a vehicle. Neighbours say Boursinos lived just 20m from where he was gunned down. 'We also have reports of a vehicle being found burnt out in Amery Street in Reservoir,' Det Insp Thomas told reporters. 'We don't know if that is linked to this particular incident this morning. We will work now to piece together what has gone on to identify those responsible.' Underworld sources have suggested the dead man was the getaway driver in the hit on Abdulrahim in January. Abdulrahim was gunned down by a team of assassins in January in an underground car park at Preston's Quest Hotel in Melbourne's north. The champion kickboxer had been a key player in Melbourne's ongoing 'tobacco wars', which has seen shops around the state torched in a deadly turf war. Independent journalist Ryan Naumenko's website Outlaw Media - which charts Melbourne's underworld crime news - labelled Thursday's murder a gangland hit.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Watch the confronting moment top jockey racially abuses Aboriginal people on video
High-profile jockey Noel Callow is under investigation after a video surfaced online in which he filmed himself racially abusing Aboriginal people. Queensland Racing Integrity Commission officials confirmed they are reviewing the footage, which was reportedly filmed in Darwin last year. 'A video was recently brought to the attention of the Commission,' a QRIC spokesperson told Racenet. 'It is presently the subject of an investigation.' Callow, 50, is a veteran rider with 1,632 career wins, having won jockeys premierships from Melbourne to Singapore, but has a number of controversial moments in his past. In June he was suspended for three months in Queensland after a post-race jockeys room brawl with a rival hoop. The video shows Callow strike up a conversation with an Aboriginal man he was passing on the street, offering him some pizza before the seemingly friendly conversation turned offensive. 'What's doing crackers,' Callow says, before asking, 'Have you showered? F*** you stink like f***.' The man responds, 'Nah, I haven't got a job [inaudible].' 'You stink like f***. Have some pizza. Take the pizza. Eat. Eat the pizza,' Callow continues. 'I don't want to eat,' the man remonstrated. 'Have a shower then, do me a favour. Have a shower. You stink like f***,' Callow said. 'I sleep on the street,' the man replied. 'So you don't want a pizza … what do you want?' Callow asked. 'I want a beer,' the man replied. 'You want a beer … if you have a shower, I'll buy you a beer,' Callow offered. 'There's no shower in the friggin area,' the man said. 'Well jump in the f***ing creek … for f*** sake man,' Callow responds. Callow then tries to guess the man's name, calling him 'Yothu Yindi' - an indigenous music group - and singing their hit song Treaty. The man replies, 'What's wrong with you?' before the clip ends with Callow saying, 'Good to have you on the show, man.' A second clip, filmed during the day, also contained offensive remarks. It begins with Callow riding a bicycle behind a group of Aboriginal people who are blocking his way on a footpath. 'Look at these co**s,' he says towards nearby pedestrians. After a pedestrian warns him, 'Watch out where you're riding your bike,' Callow responds aggressively. 'Stop walking on the f***ing footpath, you f***ing co**s,' he says. Riding away, the then says 'Get up the co**s.' Both clips have since circulated widely after initially being shared privately. Callow is currently in Darwin preparing to ride Bear Story in Monday's $200,000 Darwin Cup. He finished third on the horse in last year's race. The veteran jockey, who says he has recently given up alcohol to sustain the final stages of his career, is the son of a jockey and is the father to Toowoomba-based apprentice hoop Stacey Callow.
