Dr Peter Ridd claims his unfair dismissal from JCU brought the university into ‘disrepute’

A scientist who was found to have been unfairly sacked by James Cook University has lashed out at his former employer.

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A SCIENTIST who was found to have been unfairly sacked by James Cook University has accused university managers of bringing the tertiary institution into “disrepute.”

Townsville based Dr Peter Ridd had worked for JCU for 30 years when he was sacked last year for speaking out about his concerns that environmental research by his colleagues was “deficient”, “misleading”, and hadn’t been quality assured.

After a three-day hearing last month, Federal Court Judge Sal Vasta yesterday found the university’s treatment and sacking of the professor was unlawful.

Peter Ridd.

“The court rules that the 17 findings made by the university, the two speech directions, the five confidentiality directions, the no-satire direction, the censure and the final censure given by the university, and the termination of employment of Professor Ridd by the university were all unlawful,” his court order read.

The university’s penalty will be decided at a later date.

Dr Ridd is seeking re-employment with JCU.

In a message to his supporters, Dr Ridd said the next chapter of the “saga” needed to be written by the JCU Council, the governing body of the university.

“What will they do about the (VC) Vice Chancellor and the (SDVC) Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor, who were responsible for bringing the university into disrepute, not just in North Queensland, but also around the world,” he said.

“JCU crushed dissent, crushed academic freedom and tried to crush my spirit with their appalling behaviour.

“They only failed because I had your support.

“But if the JCU Council does not act, they will be complicit in this disgraceful episode.

“Attention must now focus on the JCU Council.”

A JCU spokesman rejected Dr Ridd’s claims.

In a statement, the university’s Provost Professor Chris Cocklin said although the matter was about enterprise agreement interpretation, the judgment did not refer to any case law, nor any authority in Australia to support its position.

“We disagree with the judgment and we maintain we have not taken issue with Dr Ridd’s nor any other employee’s rights to academic freedom,” he said.

He said the university was considering its options about the matter.

Originally published as Dr Peter Ridd claims his unfair dismissal from JCU brought the university into ‘disrepute’