Cartoonist Michael Leunig axed from prime spot at The Age over anti-Dan Andrews image

Cartoonist Michael Leunig has been axed from his prized position in The Age over an image on vaccination that stirred up controversy.

Newspaper cartoonist Michael Leunig has been axed from his prized position in The Age over an image comparing resistance to mandatory vaccination to the fight for democracy in Tiananmen Square.

In an image posted to his Instagram account, Leunig — whose career has spanned five decades — drew a lone protester standing in front of a loaded syringe, mimicking the iconic “tank man” image of protest in China. An inset of the 1989 photo also appears in Leunig’s drawing.

The image was posted at the end of September and never made it to print in The Age, and speculation about Leunig’s job at the newspaper began after a cryptic 39-word statement on its letters page last Monday. The statement said the Melbourne newspaper was “trialling new cartoonists” on the page.

Now, Leunig has confirmed to The Australian columnist Nick Tabakoff he has been taken off the newspaper’s prized Monday editorial page position — not long after his Tiananmen Square cartoon emerged and stoked outrage from Daniel Andrews fans.

He told The Australian that The Age’s editor Gay Alcorn called him soon after she banned the cartoon to “break the news gently” that he was no longer wanted on the editorial page.

He said he was told he was “out of touch with the readership”.

“Gay feels this type of cartoon is not in line with public sentiment, and The Age’s readership, who it does seem are largely in favour of the Andrews Covid narrative,” he said. “But my job is to challenge the status quo, and that has always been the job of the cartoonist.”

He defended his cartoon, saying the Tiananmen Square image is often used in cartoons around the world as a “Charlie Chaplin-like metaphor for overwhelming force meeting the innocent powerless individual” — which he felt was fair to express.

Alcorn told The Australian Leunig is “quite brilliant” and that he is “entitled to be upset” about being let go from the Monday editorial page position.

She declined to comment further when contacted by news.com.au, but confirmed the cartoonist was still “employed by us to provide a Saturday cartoon” - a lifestyle piece which appears in the newspaper’s Saturday Spectrum section.

The “tank man” cartoon divided fans on his Instagram page, with some applauding it as “brilliant” and “spot on” while others described it as “pretty bad taste” and a “disgusting comparison”.

One fan questioned the message the work would send.

Cartoonist Michael Leunig Picture: Sam Cooper

“I usually love your work and admire the way you question social/norms and assumptions. This piece however, feels pretty ill-considered during this critical time. Please think carefully about how you may influence others and your social impact as an artist. It matters,” they wrote.

However, others supported Leunig, who was declared a national living treasure in 1999.

“Good on ya Leunig … one of your best,” one fan said.

“Bless you Leunig. We need more brave artists like you,” another posted.

It’s not the first time Leunig has caused controversy over his stance on mandatory vaccination.

In 2015, the Melbourne cartoonist sparked outrage with a cartoon comparing the Victorian government to fascists, following a proposal to ban children who are not vaccinated from childcare centres.

More recently, he caused controversy over a “condescending” image depicting an absent mum.

The infamous Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing came after weeks of protests by students and workers demanding democratic change and the end of corruption. The stance came to an abrupt end after soldiers and tanks arrived on June 4, 1989.

It’s unclear exactly how many people died but it’s thought to be between several hundred or thousands of people.

- with Charis Chang