“It’s not just a loss for me, it’s a loss for all of us and
I’m very, very, very sorry,” Banerji told reporters.
Her lawyer Allan Anforth said outside court that
he expected the decision would entitle any
employer to fire an employee for criticizing the
boss’s stance on a political issue.
“The logic of it does not stop at the bounds of
the public service,” Anforth said.
The Community and Public Sector Union CPSU
National Secretary Nadine Flood said her union
“has always defended the rights of public
servants to participate in our democracy like
everyone else can.”
“People working in Commonwealth agencies
should be allowed normal rights as citizens
rather than facing Orwellian censorship because
of where they work,” Flood said in a statement.
The conservative government’s approach to
social media and the public service had become
even more draconian, with a social media policy
released in 2017 that meant public servants
could be disciplined or fired for “liking” someone
else’s post or posting emojis.
“The government’s overreach on social media
has been bad for the public sector and bad for
our democracy,” Flood said.
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