QUT student Chris Dekker complains to Human Rights Commission after IPA market stall denial

The university told the campus IPA representative his “brand’’ didn’t align with its values.

Chris Dekker, QUT campus coordinator with Renee Gorman, the National Manager of Generation Liberty. Picture: David Geraghty

A libertarian student has taken a discrimination allegation against the Queensland University of Technology’s student guild to the Human Rights Commission after the guild refused his application for a “Market Day” day stall on the basis that his “brand” did not align with their values.

Chris Dekker, a campus representative of free market think-tank the Institute of Public Affairs, was informed in January that his application to book a stall on behalf of IPA student group Generation Liberty had been refused because the committee of the Guild “have decided that your brand does not align with our values”.

However, the QUT Student Guild argues Generation Liberty was offered a stall at O-Week and only had its application for a Market Day stall rejected because the purpose of the event was for businesses to promote services and discounts they may be able to offer students, and not for political groups to promote themselves.

Market Day was held last Monday, following O-Week the previous week.

On Friday, Mr Dekker submitted his complaint to the Queensland Human Rights Commission, arguing he had been discriminated against because of his political beliefs, in contravention of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991.

“I’m asking for an apology from the guild and a commitment they won’t discriminate in the future,” Mr Dekker said.

“We still haven’t an explanation from the guild as to how discussing personal, political, and economic freedom does ‘not align’ with the guild’s values.

Generation Liberty national manager Renee Gorman said the human rights commission application was part of a fight to end the “censorship of ideas on campus”.

“If the federal government and the QUT vice-chancellor won’t protect freedom of speech on campus, then we’re left with no choice but to use the law,” Ms Gorman said.

QUT Guild president Olivia Brumm accused Generation Liberty of conducting themselves in a “deliberately deceptive way with no regard for factual accuracy”.

“Generation Liberty were offered a stall at O-Week which they turned down in order to continue to publicly grandstand and garner more media attention to this issue,” Ms Brumms said.

She said no political clubs and societies had held stalls at Market Day, but all guild-affiliated clubs and societies had been welcome to do so during O-Week.

“Despite turning down the offer of a stall at O-Week, Chris Dekker … showed up and distributed Generation Liberty membership and merch bags from the QUT Liberal National Club stall throughout the week,” Ms Brumms said.

Generation Liberty’s human rights commission claim comes after The Weekend Australian revealed on Saturday that the University of Melbourne Student Union had used security guards to prevent the Victorian Liberal Students Association from handing out leaflets on campus during an O-Week event last week.

UMSU justified its decision to exclude the Liberal students on the basis that the VLSA is not a student union-affiliated club.