Image: Rob Waters Poetry/Instagram
Musician and community worker Jayden Kitchener-Waters has lost his job within the NSW Premier’s Department, marking a significant escalation in a controversy that began with his public support for Palestinian people and opposition to genocide.
Kitchener-Waters, a Gomeroi and Ngiyampaa man who worked in community engagement with the Aboriginal Languages Trust, confirmed on Tuesday that his employment had been terminated after receiving a letter from the secretary of the Premier’s Department, Simon Draper. It comes after months of suspension and internal investigations after the 25-year-old chose to walk away from a performance at the Premier’s Awards, after staff told him he had to cover up pro-Palestine messaging on his guitar.
Speaking to City Hub, Kitchener-Waters said the dismissal had always felt like a possibility, but its finality was still devastating.
His role with the Aboriginal Languages Trust involved extensive community-facing work across NSW, with a key element in building relationships between Aboriginal communities and government — which Kitchener-Waters says has now been undone.
“For such a long time, Aboriginal people have had no trust in our government,” he said. “One of our biggest challenges was telling communities we were here now, we were safe, and we were here to help. This has done nothing but divide Aboriginal communities and the government again.”
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He described the decision as “needlessly cruel”, and the decision to send the termination letter the day after January 26 as distressing.
“For every Aboriginal person, January 26 brings up so much trauma,” he said. “Then for them to do it the day after — it’s so unprofessional and just foul.”
According to Kitchener-Waters, he was given the option to resign but refused.
“I want Aboriginal communities to know that I didn’t walk away from them,” he said. “It was the government that pushed me away from them.”
“Justice hasn’t been served”
Asked whether he would act differently if given the chance, Kitchener-Waters was staunch: absolutely not.
“Every day of the week, I would stand up for the injustices of not just Palestinian people, but Aboriginal people that were victim to genocide in this country,” he said. “I was told that I can’t have an opinion on genocide, that I can’t choose a side on genocide. I’ll do it all again and choose my people every day of the week.”
Kitchener-Waters also raised concerns about the handling of complaints he made during the process, including an alleged exchange with a staff member on the night he was told not to perform a song.
“I asked, ‘Do you support genocide?’ and they responded, ‘Not really,’” he said. “I was told it was investigated and closed. Nobody should find that an appropriate response.”
“This isn’t over, because justice hasn’t been served,” he said. “I won’t stop until it is.”
He said his hopes going forward were simple but urgent: accountability, cultural awareness training within the Premier’s Department, and an apology.
“I would love for Aboriginal people to not get fired for speaking up against genocide,” he said. “For starters, that would be awesome.”
Greens MP Sue Higginson, who voiced her support for Kitchener-Waters in Parliament last year, said she was shocked at the racial undertones of Draper’s letter, and deemed the termination to be “racially-motivated tone policing”.
“I’m unsure what Mr Draper means when he says that ‘accusing particular parties of genocide…is bound to be contested’,” she said. “I challenge Mr Draper to explain precisely how the United Nations and genocide scholars were wrong when they found Israel was committing a genocide in Gaza. It’s intellectual dishonesty and it’s on full display.
“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.”
A spokesperson from the Premier’s Department told City Hub, “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.”
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