Australia's highest court on Wednesday upheld a government decision to fire a public servant who used a pseudonym to criticise 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 claim was refused because her termination was deemed a "reasonable administrative action."
A tearful Banerji said outside court that she pursued the case "to affirm the role of this freedom of speech for public servants and we failed."
The Community and Public Sector Union CPSU National Secretary Nadine Flood said her union "has always defended the rights of public servants to participate in our democracy like everyone else can."
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