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The Guardian
19 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Law professor at centre of leaked email controversy claims University of Melbourne suspended him because of his political opinion
A University of Melbourne law professor who claimed ''Blak' activists' were leading the prestigious institution to 'destruction' alleges he has been suspended 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.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Law professor who claimed ‘Blak' activists were leading University of Melbourne to ‘destruction' sues for discrimination
A University of Melbourne law professor who wrote an email saying the institution was dictated to by ''Blak' activists' who were leading the prestigious institution to 'destruction' is suing Australia's top-ranked university for discrimination. Last month, a 2023 email written by Dr Eric Descheemaeker to the then head of the Melbourne Law School (MLS) was leaked and posted around the university's Parkville campus. In the email, in response to the announcement of a cultural safety review at the university, Descheemaeker said MLS was 'celebrating the 'noble savage'' and likened it to an 'ideological re-education camp'. Descheemaeker filed an application in relation to discrimination under the Fair Work Act in the federal court on 18 July, court records show. The application is related to section 351 of the act which stipulates an employer must not take adverse action against an employee because of attributes, including a person's race, colour, sex and sexual orientation. During a brief court mention in Melbourne on Friday, federal court judge Val Gostencnik said the matter would return for a hearing in September, with the parties agreeing the university would not terminate Descheemaeker's employment or take any adverse action until the injunction application had been determined. In the email to then Melbourne Law School dean, Prof Matthew Harding, on 12 August 2023, Descheemaeker wrote that there was 'absolutely no end to where 'Blak' activists are meaning to take us – except destruction'. 'They have made us start every meeting with ritual prayers,' he wrote. 'Their (non-existing) claims to land are now 'acknowledged' about every 10 feet in our corridors. They want me to teach that Australian law is only 'settler law' and that there exists a rich body of 'indigenous law' alongside (what are indigenous private-law remedies, I wonder. Ritual spearings?). 'Celebrating the 'noble savage' is already the main, if not exclusive, thing MLS appears to exist for – with just a bit of space to spare for every possible sexual or gendered minority vying for claims to victimhood.' Sign up: AU Breaking News email Descheemaeker said he joined what he thought was a world-class law faculty but had woken up in an 'ideological re-education camp' with 'incredibly parochial concerns'. The university commissioned a cultural safety review in 2023 – the same year Indigenous academic Dr Eddie Cubillo resigned from his role as an associate dean and senior fellow at the university's prestigious MLS. Cubillo, a Larrakia, Wadjigan and Central Arrernte man and former Northern Territory discrimination commissioner, told Guardian Australia at the time that MLS was the 'most culturally unsafe place I've worked'. Descheemaeker's email was first reported by The Age last month. MLS dean Prof Michelle Foster told The Age the leak was being investigated. 'The University of Melbourne aspires to be a place where all people are valued and respected, have equal access to opportunities and are encouraged to fulfil their talents and potential,' she said. The university offers students and staff access to a range of free support services, Foster said. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The university did not comment on whether there had been disciplinary action in response to the email. In an email sent to MLS staff on 13 June, Foster said 'sensitive correspondence' from August 2023 had recently been posted on campus noticeboards and social media. '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. She said she was committed to ensuring cultural safety at the MLS and supported the 'important work under way in this regard'. On Thursday, Foster told Guardian Australia that Descheemaeker was an employee of the university and said it would be improper to comment on an employment matter. Descheemaeker joined MLS as a professor in 2017 and holds an honorary position as a Visiting Research Fellow of the Institute of European and Comparative Law at the University of Oxford. Descheemaeker's lawyer said their client was unable to comment at this stage.
West Australian
20-07-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Big miners accuse union of ‘bully tactics' as Pilbara wage fight continues
WA's big miners are crying foul over union claims they have breached Labor's 'same job, same pay' laws before a ruling has been made in the State. The Minerals Council of Australia has lodged a formal complaint with the Fair Work Ombudsman, accusing the Electrical Trades Union of making 'clearly false', and potentially unlawful, representations to workers as it tries to gain a foothold in the Pilbara. Unions won a test case against BHP in the Fair Work Commission two weeks ago to enforce 'same job, same pay' laws on a coal mine in Queensland's Bowen Basin, adding $66 million to the mining giant's wages bill. But though no applications have been successful in WA, the ETU was threatening legal action against sub-contractors in the State as far back as April. In one email sent to multiple labour hire companies obtained by The West Australian, north-west organiser Kevin O'Donnell warned a company it was 'in breach' of the new legislation. The controversial laws — which received fierce opposition from the resources sector — aim to ensure that labour hire workers receive the same pay and conditions as directly employed staff if the Fair Work Commission rules that they're performing equivalent work. 'The ETU will vigorously defend members pay and conditions and use the full force of our legal team to do so if need be,' the ETU email said. The Minerals Council of Australia has now made a formal complaint, arguing those emails breach Section 345 of the Fair Work Act that prohibits 'knowingly or recklessly' making a 'false or misleading' representation about workplace rights. Minerals Council chief executive Tania Constable said the union was attempting to pressure companies into submission. 'This is further evidence of some unions misusing the vast new powers within the legislation to bully their way into the Pilbara,' she said. 'This has nothing to do with workers or wages, it is solely about expanding union power. 'The actions of the ETA in blatantly misrepresenting the law shows the lengths that certain unions will go to in order to abuse such powers.' ETU state secretary Adam Woodage was yet to receive a copy of the complaint on Sunday but said the union won't back down. 'It's extremely disappointing that the MCA has made no effort to contact the ETU or myself directly,' he said. 'It speaks volumes of their attitude towards workers and their unions that represent them. 'The MCA needs to learn we aren't going away and will continue to advocate and defend our members interests.' The ETU has recently filed applications urging the Fair Work Commission to enforce 'same job, same pay' on Chevron's Barrow Island LNG facility, and accused the American-owned oil company of 'playing contractors off against one another'. If successful, sub-contractors Ventia could be forced to increase maintenance wages by $80,000 per year.
Perth Now
19-07-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Move to stamp out ‘unfair' pay practice
Pay for workers in female, part time and under-35 dominated industries will be the target of some of the first new laws under the new federal government. On Saturday, Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth announced laws to protect penalty rates and overtime pay for 2.6 million workers would be introduced in the coming weeks. 'If you rely on the modern award safety net and work weekends, public holidays, early mornings or late nights, you deserve to have your wages protected,' Ms Rishworth said. 'We want this law passed as a top priority, so workers are protected from the loopholes that see their take-home pay go backwards.' People covered by award rates are more likely to be women, work part time, be under 35 years of age or employed on casual contracts, Ms Rishworth said. Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth says retail, clerical and banking sector companies have been engaged in the 'unfair' practice. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia The proposed law would add rules to the Fair Work Act, so penalty rates and overtime cannot be rolled up into a single rate of pay where it leaves any individual worker worse off. Speaking in Canberra on Saturday, Ms Rishworth stood alongside retail workers who said their penalty rates were 'really important' in paying for groceries and school fees. Retail worker Daniel said he was paid about $85 in penalty rates each week, equalling $4240 a year. 'I've been in retail for 17 years … That money often pays for vets, dentists, doctors and food. 'Generally, I find living on six to $700 a week is a struggle, whether you've got a partner to rely on or not. 'Penalty rates honestly make a huge difference, and without it, I'd have to work more. See my family less, see my dog less, see my friends less,' he said. 'Just not go to the movies, not ever have a holiday. It's a myriad of things that would affect me.' Ms Rishworth said the new legislation was prompted by 'a number of cases' where penalty rates were being reduced 'in an unfair way'. Retail, clerical and banking sector companies had made moves to trade away penalty rates for lower-paid workers, she said, leaving those staff worse off. 'Enterprise bargaining is the appropriate place to negotiate on entitlements – not eroding the award safety net,' Ms Rishworth said. Labor needs only the support of the Greens in the senate to pass legislation, sidelining the other minor parties and independents who held sway in the previous parliament's upper house. Following the May 3 election, politicians are returning to Canberra with the new parliament kicking off on Tuesday.
News.com.au
19-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Unfair': Labor reveals penalty rates protection as priority when parliament returns
Pay for workers in female, part time and under-35 dominated industries will be the target of some of the first new laws under the new federal government. On Saturday, Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth announced laws to protect penalty rates and overtime pay for 2.6 million workers would be introduced in the coming weeks. 'If you rely on the modern award safety net and work weekends, public holidays, early mornings or late nights, you deserve to have your wages protected,' Ms Rishworth said. 'We want this law passed as a top priority, so workers are protected from the loopholes that see their take-home pay go backwards.' People covered by award rates are more likely to be women, work part time, be under 35 years of age or employed on casual contracts, Ms Rishworth said. The proposed law would add rules to the Fair Work Act, so penalty rates and overtime cannot be rolled up into a single rate of pay where it leaves any individual worker worse off. Speaking in Canberra on Saturday, Ms Rishworth stood alongside retail workers who said their penalty rates were 'really important' in paying for groceries and school fees. Retail worker Daniel said he was paid about $85 in penalty rates each week, equalling $4240 a year. 'I've been in retail for 17 years … That money often pays for vets, dentists, doctors and food. 'Generally, I find living on six to $700 a week is a struggle, whether you've got a partner to rely on or not. 'Penalty rates honestly make a huge difference, and without it, I'd have to work more. See my family less, see my dog less, see my friends less,' he said. 'Just not go to the movies, not ever have a holiday. It's a myriad of things that would affect me.' Ms Rishworth said the new legislation was prompted by 'a number of cases' where penalty rates were being reduced 'in an unfair way'. Retail, clerical and banking sector companies had made moves to trade away penalty rates for lower-paid workers, she said, leaving those staff worse off. 'Enterprise bargaining is the appropriate place to negotiate on entitlements – not eroding the award safety net,' Ms Rishworth said. Labor needs only the support of the Greens in the senate to pass legislation, sidelining the other minor parties and independents who held sway in the previous parliament's upper house.
