Slashdot Mirror
Aussie Public Servant Criticises Gov't On Twitter, Gets Sacked
An anonymous reader writes "An Australian public servant who criticised the government on Twitter has been sacked even though she did not reveal her name or her job to her readers. Federal Judge Warwick Neville told her Australians had no 'unfettered implied right (or freedom) of political expression.' Unlike Americans, Australians have only limited rights to Free Speech. The new ruling makes means public servants cannot criticize the government on social media, even privately and in their own time."
That particular example is specific to the military, though; soldiers have never been considered to have the same freedoms as civilians, even in the early years of the US.
Civilian government employees do have some degree of free-speech protection. The main caveat is that any employer (including a private-sector employer) can fire employees for speech criticizing the employer, in some cases, and that is also true when the government is acting in its role as an employer. However the government is somewhat more limited than a private-sector employer in how it uses this power.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
I would just like to point out that an Aussie public servant critical of this ruling would not be able to post on slashdot without risk of being fired.
Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75. -Benjamin Franklin
Free speech and beard
Both must be feared
The will of the few
Owns what you do
Burma Shave
That.... that is actually damn insightful.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
OT: There is an advertisement up in the subway station under the Pentagon by some group called the Oath Keepers that says: "Snowden honored his oath. Honor yours; expose unconstitutional actions."