A government worker will be compensated with 12 weeks’ pay after she was sacked for attending an anti-lockdown rally and posting a photo of former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian with a Hitler moustache, a tribunal has ordered.
Sydney child protection worker Vanessa Lichi launched an unfair dismissal claim with the NSW Industrial Relations Commission after she was fired on September 6 last year.
At the time she was working as a temporary as a full-time child protection caseworker at in the Department of Communities and Justice at the Lakemba Community Service Centre.
Ms Lichi was fired after she attended a “World Freedom Rally” at Victoria Park, near the city on July 24, claiming she attended to exercise her “implied constitutional right to Political Communication, to peacefully protest and assemble”, according to a judgment by Industrial Relations Commissioner John Murphy.
Attendance at the rally was in breach of public health orders at the time.
She said she went to the rally to voice her “concerns and fears regarding the Australian government, the premier and ministers’, continued fear campaigns and threats in relation to forced COVID-19 vaccinations against the Australian people” as well as her “fears of the government’s harsh imposed lockdowns and restriction, which has significant impacts on small businesses, the livelihood and mental health of the Australian people”.
Ms Lichi had also previously posted “different sources of information including research studies, parliamentary posts, adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines and death” to her Facebook page.
She was also accused of publixjmtzywshing multiple posts which were “highly derogatory towards the NSW government and senior officials” over the actions taken in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ms Lichi was told by HR that she was not allowed to work in the office or have any contact with staff or clients for 14 days, and had also been reported to Crime Stoppers for attending the rally.
When she questioned the conduct, Ms Lichi was shown a number of images from her Facebook page, including one of Ms Berejiklian with a Hitler moustache on her face.
“Ms Berejiklian’s face was juxtaposed next to an actual image of Adolf Hitler’s face. Above the two images were the words “IF IT FITS WEAR IT”,” the judgment said.
“Another image provided to the applicant contained the words ‘By the end of August the military will be knocking on your door if you haven’t had a jab or they will take your kids off you! Wake the f**k up Australia!’.”
In a written response discussing the alleged misconduct, Ms Lichi said she was pregnant and anxious about her future due to the lockdowns.
“Over the last couple of months in particular, I have felt increasingly anxious about what is happening in the world politically,” she wrote.
“I have seen different and confusing statements on social media, including statements from elected officials like my local MP, Craig Kelly, about whether public health orders are lawful and whether it is lawful to not comply with them.
“I have not been charged with any offence and I have not attended any court appearances in relation to a serious offence.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I did not attend the rally to represent the department and I didn’t tell anyone at the rally that I was employed by DCJ and I did not speak to anyone other than my partner. I was respectful towards police.”
She explained how her partner’s job as a graphic designer had been affected by lockdowns and the pandemic.
Ms Lichi said the posts were “not meant in humour” but expressions of how she felt “imprisoned” due to the lockdowns.
Commissioner Murphy found Ms Lichi’s dismissal from her job was not unreasonable.
He said posting Ms Berejiklian’s face next to Hitler was an “appalling act of disrespectfulness and unfairness”, saying it was “fearmongering rubbish”.
“The spreading of fear mongering rubbish about the prospect of children being removed from non-vaccinated parents was always likely to cause significant upset and resentment among other Child Protection Caseworkers given the highly sensitive nature of the work that they do with vulnerable children and families,” Mr Murphy said.
While he did not disagree with Ms Lichi’s dismissal, he did concede that she had been facing “dire financial circumstances”, as well as post-natal depression.
“The applicant disclosed her personal and financial circumstances and the impact that the loss of her job would have on herself and her family,” he said.
Mr Murphy found the dismissal had been “harsh” and ordered the Department of Communities and Justice to compensate her with 12 weeks’ pay.
