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Australian Professor Fired for Criticising Climate Consensus, Loses Appeal to High Court

Another serious blow to academic freedom, as legal clerics intervene to police speech and opinion aired by a scientist who dared to disagree with the globalists’ green new dogma.

His crime: Dr. Peter Ridd made comments calling into question the politicisation of climate science, as he criticised a leading coral researcher, and said some organisations could “no longer be trusted.”

After months of fighting with academia and the Australian court system, Queensland scientist Peter Ridd has lost his High Court battle against his dismissal from James Cook University.


Dr Peter Ridd challenged dismissal from James Cook University in Australia the High Court.

ABC Australia reports…

Controversial Queensland academic Peter Ridd has lost a High Court battle over his sacking for disparaging remarks about colleagues working on the impact of climate change on the Great Barrier Reef.  

Dr Ridd was sacked in 2018 for a breach of Townsville’s James Cook University’s code of conduct over comments he made about the work of a leading coral researcher.

Part of the dispute was over his criticism linking climate change and polluted water to coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef.

He also made comments to Sky News that organisations like the Australian Institute of Marine Studies could “no longer be trusted” and suggested scientists working on the reef were emotionally attached to their subject.

Dr Ridd said his sacking was illegal because it breached the employment agreement which he said protected academic freedom.

‘Intellectual freedom not general freedom of speech’

The High Court’s judgement summary said Dr Ridd was issued two censures from the university from 2016, and in 2018 his employment was terminated for “serious misconduct under the Enterprise Agreement”.

“Dr Ridd did not dispute that the conduct occurred and that it would be misconduct or serious misconduct,” the judgement said.

“He submitted that all of his conduct was an exercise of the intellectual freedom … and could not be a serious breach of the Code of Conduct.”

Dr Ridd won an initial Federal Circuit Court case challenging his sacking and was awarded $1.2 million in compensation.

The primary judge concluded 13 actions taken by the university were contrary to clause 14 of the Enterprise Agreement.

But that was overturned on appeal in the Federal Court, which found none of the actions of the university were contrary to the agreement…

Continue this story at ABC Aus

For more analysis on this case, read: A Catch-22 defeated Peter Ridd – but there’s still hope for academic freedom

READ MORE CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Climate Files

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