I’m amazed but pleased by this obviously commonsense decision from the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Fiona Dickie, of mixed Zulu and English background, complained that she had been subjected to a ‘campaign of racism’ at the Melbourne school where she was employed as a teacher.
For example, she claimed to be shocked when a fellow teacher complimented her by saying ‘You look lovely today, you remind me of that Negro Australian singer, Marcia Hines.’
Senior Tribunal member Noreen Megay said there was no evidence of racism at the school.
“To say that the complainant’s allegations turned out to be entirely unsupported would be an understatement,” Ms Megay wrote. She said it was important to understand that conduct considered unfair by certain people was not necessarily discriminatory.
“Put simply, just because someone does not warm to you and does not like you and does not agree with you and does not share your particular passions, it does not follow that his or her conduct is unlawful.”
Ms Megay said an emotionally fragile Ms Dickie believed that anyone who did not agree with her was against her, discriminatory and racist.
Cor!
Leave a Reply