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‘ I am going to war ’
RMIT academic loses appeal against unfair dismissal claim .
An RMIT lecturer who likened teaching to “ going to war ” has lost his appeal to overturn a dismissal from workplace regulators .
Engineering lecturer Dr Amir Reza Zokaei Fard filed an unfair dismissal case to the Fair Work Commission in January after being fired for “ serious misconduct ” in 2021 .
According to Commission documents , Fard spent one year on paid personal leave while submitting general medical certificates stating he was unfit for work .
He was dismissed in December 2021 after refusing to attend three independent medical examinations ordered by RMIT .
The disciplinary action came after Fard received several complaints about his marking style , which involved individually printing , hand marking and scanning papers .
One event saw 57 students across five subjects have their marks changed in what RMIT called a “ significant anomaly ”.
After being called into a review meeting , Fard told a university panel that “ every student was against him ”.
“ At one point , [ Fard ] stated ‘ When I go to class I am going to war . The students are waiting to kill me . You kill me and they get their free pass ,’ the director of future technologies at RMIT told the Commission .
“ It is very troubling to hear a teacher use this type of language to describe their relationship with their students .”
Fair Work Commissioner Tanya Cirkovic ruled that Fard ’ s dismissal was not “ harsh , unjust or unreasonable ”.
“ I agree with the Respondent that the Applicant cannot remain on sick leave for a lengthy period , provide generalised information as to an unspecified medical condition and refuse to communicate ,” Cirkovic said . ■
George Brandis during his tenure as UK High Commissioner . Photo : Tom Dulat / Getty Images
From UK to ANU
Former attorney-general now a professor at ANU .
Former attorney-general and UK high commissioner George Brandis has been appointed as professor of national security , law and policy at the Australian National University .
The now-retired politician accepted the distinguished position after serving four years as Australia ’ s high commissioner to the UK .
Brandis follows former ASIO directorgeneral Duncan Lewis in the role , signalling the growing trend towards high-level professional appointments being made based on practical experience .
The former Liberal senator was attorneygeneral for the Abbott and Turnbull governments between 2013 and 2018 .
During this time , Brandis oversaw reforms to Australia ’ s foreign interference laws which sought to ban foreign political donations and target Chinese state government influence .
His stint as UK high commissioner , which began in 2018 , covered the signing of the AUSUK security pact and the negotiation the UK-Australia free trade agreement ( FTA ).
Speaking with AAP , Brandis said that his years of experience drew relevance to his new teaching role .
“ It ’ s a position that ’ s largely reflective in different dimensions what I ’ ve been doing the last eight and a half years ,” he said .
“ It enables me to bring the experience of national security policy I ’ ve had in those roles to ANU .”
Brandis holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Queensland , and a Bachelor of Civil Law from Magdalen College in the University of Oxford .
He has been published in a handful academic journals and co-edited two books on Australian liberalism . ■
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