NSW Premier's Department fires Aboriginal man over pro-Palestine slogans
Department secretary claims Jayden Kitchener-Waters showed "disrespect" for public service
The NSW Premier’s Department has fired an Aboriginal man after he displayed pro-Palestine slogans on his guitar at a work event, the man says.
Gomeroi and Ngiyampaa man Jayden Kitchener-Waters, a community engagement officer at the NSW Aboriginal Languages Trust, was suspended by the Premier’s Department in November after Department staff had pressured him to remove pro-Palestinian slogans from the face of his guitar before a scheduled performance at state parliament.
Kitchener-Waters had written the phrases ‘No Pride in Genocide’, ‘Free Gaza’ and ‘F*** the IDF’ on his guitar’s front, resulting in Department staff barring him from taking the stage at the annual NSW Premier’s Public Service Awards.
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Kitchener-Waters was suspended with pay after posting a video to Instagram recounting the incident, and has extensively documented the Department’s disciplinary process on social media. His suspension prompted an outpouring of support from First Nations musicians and public figures, with protesters gathering outside state parliament in November to demand he be reinstated.
In a letter posted to Kitchener-Waters’ Instagram, the Premier’s Department secretary, Simon Draper, advises that Kitchener-Waters’ employment with the Department will be terminated as of January 27.
Draper cites Kitchener-Waters’ publication of Department communications as evidence of “deep disrespect for the values of the Public Service”, stating that Kitchener-Waters “publicly mocked the procedures and policies of the Department and repudiated the values that make the Public Service what it is”.
The letter warns that Kitchener-Waters “must not disclose information about this confidential disciplinary process on any media or social media platform, including but not limited to Linkedin, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram or X (Twitter)”.
In quotes attributed to him by Kitchener-Waters on Instagram, Draper cited Kitchener-Waters drafting a letter of response in Gomeroi, rather than English, as having been an issue during the disciplinary process.
“A submission on the employment matter was required in English in order that it could be properly considered,” Kitchener-Waters claims Draper told him. “Although you gave the name of an Aboriginal corporation that could provide a translation, it would have been more reliable for you to have made a submission in English or to provide a translation yourself.”
Kitchener-Waters also claims Draper told him his conduct “impacted colleagues working within the Aboriginal Languages Trust,” and that he had caused controversy by “accusing particular parties of genocide”.
“Opposition to genocide as a phenomenon is uncontroversial. However, accusing particular parties of genocide in a contemporary conflict is bound to be contested, inflammatory and a matter for political debate, and that is certainly the case in Australia,” Kitchener-Waters claims Draper said.
The NSW Premier’s Department did not answer questions as to the accuracy of the statements Kitchener-Waters has attributed to Draper.
NSW Greens justice spokesperson Sue Higginson challenged the Department “to explain precisely how the United Nations and genocide scholars were wrong when they found Israel was committing a genocide in Gaza”.
“The Premier and his Department had a chance to show grace, respect and compassion to Jayden and reach an outcome reflective of substantive justice to an Aboriginal man who simply wanted to perform with an objectively humane slogan on his guitar. Instead, they chose the path of exclusion and injustice that is emblematic of NSW Labor’s approach towards First Nations people,” she said.
Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe concurred, telling Deepcut “the Premier’s Department has chosen to punish Jayden for speaking truth”.
“As a former public servant, I know that ‘mocking’ policy and procedure happens all the time,” Thorpe said. “This is censorship, plain and simple. It’s an attempt to silence a First Nations man for refusing to hide a message that exposes violence and injustice.”
In response to questions, a Department representative said: “The Premier’s Department Code of Conduct states employees should not act in a manner, or make or endorse comment, that could cast doubt on their ability to act impartially, apolitically and professionally and to treat other staff with respect.
“It would be inappropriate to comment further on individual staffing matters.”
Employers use confidentiality as a means to enforce control and keep workers atomised.
Another day in the colony! Thank you for covering this very important story. Blackfullas 🤝 Palestinians/ anti-genocide/ anti-censorship/ freedom of expression. Integrity and principle personified. Proud of the bruthaboy!