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Declan Mansfield was forced out of his job as a library worker for the City of Armidale after refusing to attend a politically charged DEI training. He is now fighting for freedom of conscience in Western Australia.

A Western Australian library worker who refused to undergo mandatory “diversity” training promoting transgender ideology is now taking legal action, after being forced from his job after 15 years of faithful service.

Declan Mansfield, a former employee of the City of Armadale library in Perth’s southeast, said he was pressured to resign after opting out of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) course that, he believed, embedded transgender ideology in the workplace.

“There should be no ideological litmus test that employees in either the public or private sectors should have to pass to gain and retain employment,” Declan told The Daily Declaration.

“This should be especially so in libraries, which rely at their ideological core on the notion of freedom of speech.”

His case, backed by the Free Speech Union of Australia, is now before Western Australia’s State Administrative Tribunal.

Our latest legal case, which is against the @CityofArmadale! As Declan says, ‘thus far and no further’. pic.twitter.com/yQQQRo42Vy

— Free Speech Union of Australia (@FSUofAustralia) October 20, 2025

Trans Zealotry in the Library

Declan, an Irish-born library worker who had worked for the City of Armadale for more than a decade, said he initially agreed to complete the training when he was told it was not political.

However, after viewing the website of the company contracted to run the course, “I determined that the training was ideological,” Declan told The Daily Declaration — and inconsistent with a neutral public service.

“I went to the manager of Armadale Library, closed the door, and told her that I would not do the training,” he continued.

The manager “had bragged to staff in the workroom that she was going to make everyone do the training, but everyone knew she was talking about me,” Declan said.

“She did not take kindly — this is an understatement — to my refusal to do the training.”

Declan then described the strange events that followed: “After I left her office by the door that leads to the public part of the library, she left by a separate door and walked directly to the only trans person in the City of Armidale library service, and said, ‘he won’t do the training’.”

“This indicates to me, at the very least, that there was collusion between management and the small group of transgender zealots among staff,” he explained. “I can’t think of any other explanation for this behaviour.”

A Workplace Like East Berlin

When Declan expressed his concerns and later wrote about them for The Spectator Australia, the atmosphere at his workplace shifted, he said. Colleagues, began to treat him with hostility, calling him a “bigot” and “transphobe.”

These events took place on the backdrop of an already politicised workplace, Declan contends — where rainbow flags and “You Are Proudly Welcome Here” posters were displayed throughout the library, and staff were encouraged to wear “Ally” badges and pride lanyards.

He even described some employees hiding or mis-shelving books that questioned transgender ideology, or cancelling patrons’ reservations on verboten titles.

The environment, he said, began to resemble “East Berlin,” where dissent was quietly policed and speech carefully monitored.

Staff members who took issue with this turn of events, Declan explained, “would meet in the shelves”.

“Everybody would be looking around in case somebody was the other side of the shelf to make sure that nobody could hear what you said.”

“I don’t care about what someone’s sexuality is, what they identify as, what their beliefs are,” Declan clarified. “That’s none of my business.”

“But I believe that government institutions… local government in particular, need to be politically and philosophically neutral.”

What is Diversity, Equity and Inclusion?

Speaking with The Daily Declaration, Declan set out the crux of his objection to DEI: “What most people don’t understand about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is that the three interrelated concepts rely on the fallacy of equivocation.”

“In other words, the words don’t retain their everyday meaning,” he said. “What’s in the tin is not what’s written on the box.”

First, he explained, “Diversity is only diversity of identity and not of belief.”

Second, “Equity means discriminating against people because of identity — it’s the exact opposite of equality.”

Third and finally, “Inclusion means making a space welcoming to people by discriminating — especially by curtailing freedom of speech — against the majority.”

Providing an example of the latter to highlight the irony, Declan added: “Anyone not using someone’s self-identified pronouns would be behaving in a ‘non-inclusive’ way.”

“DEI is not a respectful philosophy, it’s authoritarian at heart,” he concluded.

Declan told The Daily Declaration that his decision not to participate in the DEI training did not stem from prejudice towards any individual or group, but was simply a conscientious objection to an ideology he does not accept.

Forced Out, Fighting Back

Following months of tension, Declan said management launched two internal investigations — one over his refusal to attend the DEI training, and another related to a bullying complaint by a colleague who had previously worked in drag performances.

He said the experience soon became unbearable: “The City of Armidale said, in formal words, ‘You will adhere to this ideology. We’re going to monitor everything you do. And at any moment, we can terminate your employment.’”

“I thought, I can’t work under those circumstances,” he explained.

Ultimately, Declan resigned. “My experience since I resigned has not been positive,” he told The Daily Declaration.

“I managed to find employment six weeks after I left the City of Armadale, but after fifteen months working as a part-time library courier in the City of Gosnells, which borders the City of Armadale, they didn’t renew my contract, much to the astonishment of staff,” he explained.

“Since then — the end of February — I’ve been unemployed and I have been living on my savings.”

Declan explained that his losses are now in the tens of thousands.

“It is more than likely that when I retire, in five years time, I will have exhausted both my savings and my superannuation and I will be broke and relying on the pension,” he said.

A Case with Wider Implications

Declan’s case is now before the State Administrative Tribunal under Western Australia’s Equal Opportunity Act 1984, which prohibits employers from discriminating against workers based on their political or religious beliefs.

The Free Speech Union of Australia (FSU) is providing support and raising funds to cover his legal expenses.

FSU believes Declan has a strong case, given that WA’s Equal Opportunity Act “makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee on the ground of an employee’s religious or political conviction, either through the terms and conditions of employment, limiting opportunities for promotion, or any other detriment”.

According to the FSU, Declan’s experience reflects a deeper problem in public institutions — a creeping intolerance of employees who hold conservative or libertarian beliefs.

While the legal proceedings are ongoing, the case has already attracted significant public attention, with thousands following updates shared by the FSU on social media.

As his case proceeds, Declan remains unemployed and uncertain about the future, but has no regrets over standing firm.

“The sooner this ideology becomes an unfortunate footnote in history, the better for everyone,” he said.

“My hope is that my case casts light on the most sneakily deceitful ideology of recent times — and that people should be able to, without prejudice, believe whatever they want.”