The new Enterprise Agreement at the University of Queensland is special but a typical example of the genre: designer sickies. De rigueur is the introduction of gender affirmation leave – employees can access up to 20 days of paid annual leave to affirm their gender. And increased family and domestic violence leave entitlements from 10 days to 15 days. And the introduction of reproductive health and well-being leave – allowing employees with reproductive health issues up to five days of leave per annum where sick leave has been exhausted.

Gender affirmation leave may be used to attend medical appointments, recover from medical procedures, deal with legal matters, or any other activity related to an employee’s gender affirmation. This leave is provided in addition to any other leave that may be available to the employee. If an employee has used all of their paid leave, the employee may apply for further unpaid leave. The university insists that such leave will ‘not be unreasonably refused’.

Then there is compassionate leave. Employees are entitled to three days paid leave and up to five days unpaid leave to spend time with a person who is a member of the employee’s immediate family or household and has a personal illness or injury that poses a serious threat to their life, or after the death of a member of the employee’s immediate family or household. This entitlement also extends to members of an Aboriginal community or where a recognised cultural relationship exists. That is quite some extension.

Of course, employees can substitute the Australia Day public holiday on January 26 for another day during the year. Why not trash the nation that gave you the leave? But the ones that stick in my craw are the increased cultural leave for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees from 5 days to 8 days of paid leave, the introduction of 10 days of unpaid cultural leave, and an Aboriginal Language Allowance of $3,500 annually.

This stuff is so generous a gender-affirming Aboriginal speaking in tongues with problems with the ‘missus’ could get paid a premium for never turning up. There was a time when the employee took sick leave when sick, and if really ill, could use holiday leave – so old hat.

Paid to be Aboriginal

When the university requires employees to use the Aboriginal language as part of their role, they will be paid an allowance of $3,500 annually. The university thinks Aboriginal languages are unique and deserve recognition, as long as the ‘speaker’ is Aboriginal. A non-Aboriginal speaker, for example, an anthropologist with knowledge of an Aboriginal language, presumably would not be paid the allowance. A person is paid an allowance for speaking their language when it is part of their role. That’s like a tool allowance for a tradie, except this is academic staff on salary. Presumably, they are hired for the skills required for their job. Why should someone be paid extra for being what they are hired to be?

As for what language means, cop this explanation. ‘Language includes the complex communication system used in Indigenous culture in all its diversity, including sign language, speech taboos, Indigenous gestural systems, ceremonial language, utterances, and auditory, visual and non-verbal communication.’ How much of this language was learned at elders’ feet or a non-Aboriginal linguist’s lecture hall?

The university acknowledges that Aboriginal employees have ‘commitments and obligations to maintaining their relationship to country, their communities and the broader community.’ What about the rest of us? What about a member of Rotary? Do they have special acknowledgement? There is unpaid leave for community service for others, emergency services volunteers, for example, but Aboriginal employees engaging in cultural activities requested to be undertaken on behalf of the university will have such activities ‘recognised in their workload allocation and considered in the criteria for the promotion’.

Suppose these Aboriginal academics feel they are being leaned on to be Aboriginal. In that case, the university recognises that an employee is not obliged to undertake requests involving additional cultural duties outside their role. Indeed, the University will allow time and reimbursement of costs incurred by Aboriginal employees for undertaking activities required by the university, in addition to those cultural duties identified in an employee’s workload allocation. This is identity politics gone mad.

Cultural knowledges

Of course, there is recognition of ‘community-based intellectual property’ and ‘Indigenous Cultural Knowledges’, whatever they are. This could be a real money spinner because the university Reconciliation Action Plan intends to ‘Indigenise’ the curricula by incorporating Aboriginal curricula in its courses. It also wants to investigate the inclusion of an Aboriginal core course in university programs. What can only imagine the nonsense that will be incorporated?

The university aims to lift the representation of Aboriginal employees to achieve population parity in Queensland, which means increasing Aboriginal employment to the full-time equivalent of 64 academic and 116 professional employees by January 31, 2026. Things are looking up. Hire by the numbers. Ignore the suitability, ability, or even the interest of Aboriginal people in an academic life.

This aim and the various wins in the Enterprise Agreement will bring to play the touchy question: who is an Aborigine? According to the university agreement, an ‘Aboriginal’ person is any person of Aboriginal descent recognised and accepted by other Aboriginal peoples who identify. Does anyone dare ask for proof?