Public service tweeter goes to Fair Work

Former public servant Michaela Banerji, who lost her job over tweets critical of the government, is pursuing the matter with the Fair Work Commission.

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(Getty)

The case of a public servant sacked over tweets critical of the immigration department will head to Fair Work Australia.

Michaela Banerji lost her job in the public affairs section of the immigration department after tweeting comments critical of government asylum seeker policy and the department. She made the comments under the pseudonym @LaLegale.

Ms Banerji had launched an appeal against a decision not to stay her sacking, but on Wednesday she withdrew that Federal Court action.

The case will instead go to a conference at the Fair Work Commission in November.

Ms Banerji said she was pursuing the matter to foster a discussion about the treatment of public servants making comments in a private capacity.

"So many people do not get an opportunity to air these things, to bring these things into the open," she told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.

She believed that if her sacking was upheld, that effectively meant any public servant could face dismissal if they criticised their departments in their own time.

"It seems that the government is making an example of me," she said.


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Source: AAP


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Public service tweeter goes to Fair Work | SBS News