{"id":140191,"date":"2024-01-10T00:02:45","date_gmt":"2024-01-10T05:02:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=140191"},"modified":"2024-01-09T11:59:15","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T16:59:15","slug":"australian-academic-claims-unlawful-firing-for-criticizing-greta-thunberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/australian-academic-claims-unlawful-firing-for-criticizing-greta-thunberg\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian professor claims &#8216;unlawful&#8217; firing for criticizing Greta Thunberg"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong>&#8216;When they want you out, they just push you out,&#8217; former professor said<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>An Australian academic says his university unlawfully terminated him for criticizing Gen Z <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/university-of-helsinki-to-bestow-honorary-degree-to-greta-thunberg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">climate activist<\/a> Greta Thunberg using his personal account on X.<\/p>\n<p>Former Deputy Dean of Research and Innovation Andrew Timming was fired from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, days before Christmas for &#8220;exercising [his] workplace rights&#8221; to academic freedom, he wrote on his personal <a href=\"https:\/\/andrewtimming.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf [students] knew what really happened to \u2018thought criminals\u2019 like me, they would be appalled,\u201d Timming (<em>pictured<\/em>) told <em>The College Fix<\/em> in an email.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut, then again, there is a minority of woke activists that fully and openly support the suppression of speech with extreme prejudice,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI do not believe that most students are woke, but they are a loud and powerful group and, for whatever reason, university administrators are terrified of offending them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>RMIT University declined to comment on Timming\u2019s claims because the school does not publicly address matters about individual staff, current or former, a spokesperson told <em>The Fix<\/em> in an email.<\/p>\n<p>Timming stated his road to termination began when he posted to X in response to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GretaThunberg\/status\/1608056944501178368\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">comments<\/a> made on the platform by climate activist Greta Thunberg to social media personality Andrew Tate.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">yes, please do enlighten me. email me at smalldickenergy@getalife.com <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/V8geeVvEvg\">https:\/\/t.co\/V8geeVvEvg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GretaThunberg\/status\/1608056944501178368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 28, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In Tate\u2019s original post, he had tagged Thunberg and asked for her email address so he could send her a list of the cars he owns and their emissions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cyes, please do enlighten me,\u201d Thunberg responded. \u201cEmail me at smalldickenergy@getalife.com.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Timming, in response to the praise Thunberg received for her comments, attempted to point out a double standard in a now-deleted post on Dec. 29, 2022.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-140196\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/AndrewTimmingtweet72-370x76.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"599\" height=\"123\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/AndrewTimmingtweet72-370x76.jpg 370w, https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/AndrewTimmingtweet72-560x116.jpg 560w, https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/AndrewTimmingtweet72-135x28.jpg 135w, https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/AndrewTimmingtweet72-768x159.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/AndrewTimmingtweet72.jpg 1124w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 599px) 100vw, 599px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cDemeaning sexual jokes when directed from a woman to a man,\u201d the post read, ending with a smiling emoji and a winking emoji. \u201cDemeaning sexual jokes when directed from a man to a woman,\u201d it stated, followed by a bomb emoji and a skull and crossbones emoji.<\/p>\n<p>Following the post, RMIT threatened Timming with disciplinary action and bullied him for his comments, he said on his website. He lodged a complaint in May 2023 alleging a violation of the school\u2019s academic freedom policy.<\/p>\n<p>One week later, Timming said he was \u201cstood down,\u201d or suspended, by RMIT because the university had initiated a clause in his contract with the school called \u201cTermination of Employment on Grounds of Ill Health,&#8221; according to his website.<\/p>\n<p>However, Timming claimed that the day before, RMIT was provided with a doctor\u2019s note, which <em>The Fix<\/em> reviewed, clearing him to work.<\/p>\n<p>The university fired him in December, allegedly for neglecting to teach courses that were not in his &#8220;work plan,&#8221; responsibilities he had been disputing under the RMIT <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rmit.edu.au\/content\/dam\/rmit\/rmit-images\/staff-site\/my-employment\/documents\/enterprise-agreements\/RMIT-University-Enterprise-Agreement-2018.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Enterprise Bargaining Agreement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The real reason he was fired &#8220;was over [the] tweet,&#8221; Timming wrote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen they want you out, they just push you out,\u201d Timming told <em>The Fix<\/em> when asked about RMIT\u2019s alleged use of \u201cill health\u201d as grounds for initially suspending him.<\/p>\n<p>At present, Timming is fighting his termination with an appeal to RMIT\u2019s vice chancellor, who must convene an appeal panel chaired by a non-employee of the university, Timming told <em>The Fix<\/em> when asked about his next steps.<\/p>\n<p>The Free Speech Union of Australia, with which Timming is associated, has launched a <a href=\"https:\/\/actionbutton.nationbuilder.com\/share\/SPK-QEFERUc=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">petition<\/a> for his reinstatement at RMIT.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Professor Andrew Timming was unlawfully dismissed by RMIT for sending an innocuous tweet,&#8221; the petition states. &#8220;We call on Professor Alec Cameron, the Vice Chancellor of RMIT, to uphold his appeal, restore academic freedom and respect workplace rights.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Timming told <em>The Fix<\/em> this was not his first run-in with RMIT because of controversial comments he had made, but he is fighting to make sure all are safe from being punished for exercising their right to free expression.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;m on a mission to ensure that no one is sacked for standing up for the right to free speech,\u201d Timming told <em>The Fix<\/em>. \u201cThis mission extends beyond RMIT. It extends beyond Australian universities. The woke agenda is infiltrating higher education across the Western world and it must be stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/university-of-helsinki-to-bestow-honorary-degree-to-greta-thunberg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">University of Helsinki to bestow honorary degree to Greta Thunberg<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>IMAGES: andrewtimming.com<\/p>\n            <div class=\"article-truncate-control\">\n                <button class=\"show-complete-article\">\n                    Read More                <\/button>\n            <\/div>\n\n        ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8216;When they want you out, they just push you out,&#8217; former professor said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1320,"featured_media":140207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1085,1077],"tags":[52488,52484,9937,22611,52486,34550,52485,52487,13828,940,46793],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/AndrewTimming72.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Oh4L-At9","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140191"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140191"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":140226,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140191\/revisions\/140226"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}