The Federal Circuit Court,whichin April found the dismissal was unlawful,on Friday said Dr Ridd would now be seen as"damaged goods"and the university had"poisoned the well".
Outlining his final declarations and penalties,Judge Salvatore Vasta suggested the university's conduct bordered on"paranoia and hysteria fuelled by systemic vindictiveness"and Dr Ridd must have felt he was being persecuted. He found the academic's intellectual freedom had been undermined by the"myopic and unjustified actions of his lifelong employer".
Loading
"In this case,Professor Ridd has endured over three years of unfair treatment by JCU – an academic institution that failed to respect the rights to intellectual freedom that Professor Ridd had as per[his enterprise agreement],"the judge decided.
The case has attracted intense focus due to Dr Ridd's scepticism of climate change science and thebroader debate about free speech at Australian universities.
Judge Vasta said Dr Ridd had suffered a loss of income and agreed with the academic's view that"most big institutions don't want a bar of somebody who has been through my sort of controversy".
He said Dr Ridd would face difficulty securing employment"despite his considerable expertise",finding the problem had been exacerbated by a statement released by the university followingthe court's initial judgment.