Ridd loses JCU battle
High Court dismisses appeal
SACKED James Cook University professor Peter Ridd says his David and Goliath battle with his former employer was “worth the battle” despite losing a High Court appeal against his controversial dismissal.
The High Court of Australia unanimously dismissed Dr Ridd’s appeal against his removal from the Townsville-based university on Wednesday, finding his termination was justified.
Dr Ridd was fired from his job of 27 years with JCU in 2018 over findings of “serious misconduct” including critical comments he made about scientific colleagues and breaches of confidentiality.
A 2019 court decision found Dr Ridd had been unfairly dismissed and awarded him $1.2 million in compensation.
However JCU later won an appeal in the Federal Court which Dr Ridd then appealed in the High Court during a hearing in June this year.
In its judgment, the court found the university had previously improperly sanctioned the professor in 2016 for sending an email in which he criticised the veracity of scientific research relating to the Great Barrier Reef.
The High Court judges found while the 2016 censure given to Dr Ridd was not justified, that conclusion did not affect the outcome of his appeal because not all of the conduct he was ultimately dismissed for in 2018 fell within intellectual freedom protections.
“This litigation concerned conduct by Dr Ridd far beyond that of the 2016 censure, almost none of which was protected by the intellectual freedom in (his contract),” the judges said.
“That conduct culminated in the termination decision, a decision which itself was justified by 18 grounds of serious misconduct, none of which involved the exercise of intellectual freedom.”
In an emotional statement, Dr Ridd said his case was “just a small battle in a much bigger war”.
Dr Ridd said he regularly asked himself if he knew the outcome of his controversial comments during an interview in which he criticised the quality assurance of some Great Barrier Reef related research, would he do it again.
“It has cost me my job, my career, over $300K in legal fees, and more than a few grey hairs,” he said.
“All I can say is that I hope I would do it again – because overall it was worth the battle, and having the battle is, in this case, more important than the result.
“This is just a small battle in a much bigger war. It was a battle which we had to have and, in retrospect, lose.”
A JCU spokesman said the court had “confirmed that the termination of Dr Ridd’s employment had nothing to do with academic freedom”.
“James Cook University at all times has made clear that it strongly supports the pursuit of intellectual enquiry and the freedom of staff to engage in academic and intellectual freedom,” the spokesman said.
“This commitment is reflected in the assessment of the University as fully aligned with the French Model Code on Academic Freedom...”