Australian court upholds dismissal of woman over tweets

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia's highest court today upheld a government decision to fire a public servant who used a pseudonym to criticize government immigration policy on Twitter.

The High Court's seven judges unanimously overturned a lower court's decision that Michaela Banerji's dismissal was not reasonable and that public service rules around the use of social media and making public comment "unacceptably trespassed on the implied freedom of political communication."

The Community and Public Sector Union, which represents public servants, said the decision had serious implications for free speech and could potentially affect almost 2 million Australians who work for the federal, state and local governments.

Banerji used the Twitter handle "LaLegale" to send more than 9,000 tweets in six years while she was employed by what was then called the Department of Immigration and Border Protection from 2006 and 2012. The tweets were often critical of government policies, such as banishing refugees who attempt to reach Australia by boat to camps on the poor Pacific island nations of Papua New Guineas and Nauru.

A department investigation discovered that Banerji was behind the tweets and had breached the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct, which demands civil servants appear to be politically impartial. Her job was terminated in September 2013.

The next month, she lodged a claim for workers' compensation for a post-traumatic stress disorder that she blamed on her termination. The claim was refused because her termination was deemed a "reasonable administrative action."