Sacked Ridd up for fight
THE James Cook University professor sacked after criticising a “lack of quality assurance on reef science” believes even if he loses his unfair dismissal High Court battle, he’ll ultimately win the war for free speech.
Peter Ridd will take his long-running legal fight with the university to Australia’s highest court next week after the Federal Court last month overturned an earlier ruling that found the university had unlawfully contravened its enterprise agreement by dismissing him.
Dr Ridd’s lawyers are expected to apply for leave to appeal the Federal Court’s decision in the High Court on Tuesday, a decision the scientist said he did not make lightly.
“It was a difficult decision (to appeal) because we needed to be reasonably confident, we needed to know we have got a good chance of winning,” Dr Ridd said.
“I wasn’t just going to take another $600,000 of people’s hard-earned cash unless I had advice that we had a very strong chance, which is the advice I’ve been given.”
Donations have flooded in to a Gofundme page set up to pursue the costly legal battle with more than $600,000 of the $750,000 needed already raised since Dr Ridd announced his intention to continue the fight last month.
“I think people are supporting us because people really want to win on this,” he said.
“They feel they’re part of it, which they are. They are actually a part of it, especially the farming community.”
Dr Ridd said by the time the case wrapped up, the legal fight would have cost his side alone more than $1.6m, much of which has been donated by passionate supporters.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “We thought when we did the first Gofundme we’d only get $500. So it is incredible.”
Dr Ridd was sacked from his job of almost 30 years by the university in 2018.
In September, the Federal Circuit Court ordered JCU to pay more than $1.2m in damages and penalties, finding the university had unlawfully contravened its enterprise agreement.
But the university last month won an appeal against the decision, with the full bench of the Federal Court upholding the appeal and setting aside the ruling.
Dr Ridd said while the longrunning battle was stressful, he was heartened by the changes and awareness already sparked by his fight, including the parliamentary inquiry into ensuring evidence-based regulation of farm practices that impact water quality on the Great Barrier Reef.
Education Minister Dan Tehan has also announced an independent review to evaluate the progress universities have made to implement the French model code on free speech and academic freedom.
“The irony is that if we lose in the High Court it will actually mean that academic freedom of speech is effectively dead,” Dr Ridd said.
“It certainly does feel like (a lot of pressure) on occasion but when you see the support coming in and even the fact there’s a review you’re thinking ‘ Well we’re actually going ahead here one way or another and it’s worthwhile doing this’.”