Latest news with #Aboriginals
Sky News AU
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Street sweeper Shaun Turner reveals political ambitions following sacking over Acknowledgement of Country objection
A street sweeper who won his unfair dismissal case after objecting to an Acknowledgement of Country last year has revealed he is now considering a career in politics. Melbourne man Shaun Turner was let go by Victoria's Darebin City Council in June 2024 over questioning why an Acknowledgement of Country was being introduced at a toolbox meeting involving the council's street cleaning team. Mr Turner stood by his questioning in the meeting, where he argued "people who have worn the uniform and fought" for Australia should be thanked, and he won an unfair dismissal case against the council in June. The Australian reports Mr Turner has received a compensation package following a Fair Work Commission mediation hearing on Tuesday, with the terms of the settlement being kept confidential. The 60-year-old is now planning on taking some time out to consider 'where I sort of go next,' according to the masthead. 'Yeah, as I said, who knows? Maybe politics,' Mr Turner said. 'For now I'll just sit back and hopefully go enjoy some Sri Lankan sun.' He also said he had been treating a potential debut in politics 'very seriously,' eyeing up a Senate seat in particular. 'I've had a lot of time to read, I watch a lot of political shows… and I have ideas,' he said, according to The Australian. 'I'd probably like to run in the Senate.' Mr Turner revealed to the publication earlier this month that he was a 'fan' of One Nation leader and senator Pauline Hanson. 'People will throw the racist word at her, but she goes: 'No, I look after Australians, not the illegals that come into it',' Mr Turner said. He previously told Sky News he thought Acknowledgement of Country rituals were 'getting overdone' and 'out of hand'. 'If you go to eight meetings you're probably going to get eight acknowledgement of the country's, so you spend half your day at it,' he said. Mr Turner also claimed that he was 'not racist' and said he has a niece who has Indigenous Australian heritage. 'She's got three beautiful boys and one wild daughter. So I have no problems with Aboriginals,' he said. He said he would play football with a 'great family of Aboriginal boys' and became good friends with one of the boys while growing up in Broadmeadows.
India Gazette
03-07-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
British committed genocide against Aboriginal Australians inquiry
The indigenous population of the state of Victoria suffered near-complete physical destruction at the hands of colonists, a report has said British colonisers committed "genocide" against the Aboriginal people in the Australian state of Victoria after arriving in the area in the early 1830s, a commission investigating injustices against the indigenous population has said. The colonization of Victoria, Australia's second smallest state, located in the southeast of the country, took place between 1834 and 1851. During that period, its indigenous population suffered "near-complete physical destruction," falling from around 60,000 to 15,000, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Yoorrook Justice Commission. The crimes by the British in Victoria included "mass killings, disease, sexual violence, exclusion, linguicide [the death of languages], cultural erasure, environmental degradation, child removal, absorption and assimilation," it said. "This was genocide," the commission ruled after holding more than two months of public hearings and listening to accounts by over 1,300 Aboriginals. The report suggested some 100 recommendations in order to "redress" harm caused to the Aboriginals by "invasion and occupation," including paying reparations and granting Victoria's First Peoples' Assembly decision-making powers. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said in a statement that she welcomed the report and that her government would consider its findings. "Victoria's truth-telling process is a historic opportunity to hear the stories of our past that have been buried - these are stories that all Victorians need to hear," Allan stated. The head of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization (VACCHO), Jill Gallagher, told ABC that "we do not blame anyone alive today for these atrocities," but stressed "it is the responsibility of those of us alive today to accept that truth." The Yoorrook Justice Commission was established in 2021, becoming the first of its kind in Australia. Similar formal "truth-telling" inquiries are currently taking place in other states. The Australian Museum said previously there were at least 270 massacres carried out by colonists against Aboriginal Australians between the late 18th and early 20th century "as part of a state-sanctioned and organized attempts to eradicate First Nations people." READ MORE: Brits fail to fix stranded F-35 stealth fighter in India media Due to those actions, the indigenous population in Australia declined from an estimated 1-1.5 million to less than 100,000 by the early 1900s, according to the museum. (
Russia Today
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
British committed ‘genocide' against Aboriginal Australians
British colonisers committed 'genocide' against the Aboriginal people in the Australian state of Victoria after arriving in the area in the early 1830s, a commission investigating injustices against the indigenous population has said. The colonization of Victoria, Australia's second smallest state, located in the southeast of the country, took place between 1834 and 1851. During that period, its indigenous population suffered 'near-complete physical destruction,' falling from around 60,000 to 15,000, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Yoorrook Justice Commission. The crimes by the British in Victoria included 'mass killings, disease, sexual violence, exclusion, linguicide [the death of languages], cultural erasure, environmental degradation, child removal, absorption and assimilation,' it said. 'This was genocide,' the commission ruled after holding more than two months of public hearings and listening to accounts by over 1,300 Aboriginals. The report suggested some 100 recommendations in order to 'redress' harm caused to the Aboriginals by 'invasion and occupation,' including paying reparations and granting Victoria's First Peoples' Assembly decision-making powers. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said in a statement that she welcomed the report and that her government would consider its findings. 'Victoria's truth-telling process is a historic opportunity to hear the stories of our past that have been buried – these are stories that all Victorians need to hear,' Allan stated. The head of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization (VACCHO), Jill Gallagher, told ABC that 'we do not blame anyone alive today for these atrocities,' but stressed 'it is the responsibility of those of us alive today to accept that truth.' The Yoorrook Justice Commission was established in 2021, becoming the first of its kind in Australia. Similar formal 'truth-telling' inquiries are currently taking place in other states. The Australian Museum said previously there were at least 270 massacres carried out by colonists against Aboriginal Australians between the late 18th and early 20th century 'as part of a state-sanctioned and organized attempts to eradicate First Nations people.' Due to those actions, the indigenous population in Australia declined from an estimated 1-1.5 million to less than 100,000 by the early 1900s, according to the museum.
Sky News AU
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Mundine labels Vic truth telling reparations a ‘slippery slope' that could cripple state
Indigenous leader Warren Mundine has the Victorian truth telling commission's recommendation for the government to provide First Nations Australians with financial reparations was a concerning 'slippery slope.' The Victorian government's Yoorrook Justice truth telling inquiry handed down its final report on Tuesday after four years of proceedings and claimed that the state had been illegally occupied. It also claimed that Victoria's First Peoples had been subjected to genocide. The commission made 100 recommendations to the Victorian government including providing Indigenous Australians with tax relief, financial reparations and land grants. But Mr Mundine, who was a driving force behind the No to the Voice to Parliament campaign said the proposal did not represent the view of all Indigenous Australians and said the move would further divide the country. 'It is a slippery slope. We know that because we know that when people ask for something, and it's only a small minority of Aboriginals, you know, more radical Aboriginals and when this starts, they ask for more, and they ask for more,' Mr Mundine told The inquiry claimed the government needed to atone for colonial 'injustices' and further ordered Indigenous groups to be given access to cash generated from state resources. The truth telling inquiry implored the state government to treat Indigenous groups as separate nations, and that taxpayer funds should be used to create a Traditional Owner organisation that would inherit a portion of state revenues. Mr Mundine unleashed on the commission and questioned why it was "asking for more things" given the High Court's recent native title decision which essentially confirmed property rights for Indigenous Australians. 'I think that was the right decision so why is this body in Victoria asking for more things? They are late to the party. 'I think some of these things get a bit crazy and a bit overboard, you know we're trying to bring our nation together and we're trying to treat everyone as equals and we (Indigenous Australians) have every right as equals as every other citizen.' Some Indigenous commentators have criticised the sweeping financial recommendations. One said the cash compensation in addition to tax exemptions for Indigenous people, could potentially send the debt-stricken state broke, according to the Herald Sun. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has refused to rule out paying compensation to First Nations people. Mr Mundine said the Victorian government needed to channel its efforts into improving the living standards of the Indigenous community. He said funding inquiries and implementing legally risky policies with far reaching ramifications was a "bad joke". 'What I would like to see is that the Victorian government actually takes a sensible common-sense approach to this thing rather than dividing the country," he said. 'What they are saying is that they have failed Australian citizens because the last time I looked at the Constitution Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders are Australian citizens if they're not looking after them then then that's a failure of government.' Three of the inquiry's five commissioners, who were each paid between $250,000 and $370,000 'did not approve of the inclusion of the key findings in the final report' which included the creation of a permanent First People's Assembly and a treaty between Indigenous groups and the government. Mr Mundine said if there was disagreement among the inquiry's commissioners, then the parliamentary process to respond to the recommendations would be a nightmare. 'It doesn't worry me that there was disagreement between the commissioners because this just tells you how volatile this is going to be, could you imagine if the commission is arguing about this what is it going to do for the wider Australian community, the wider Victorian community and government?' Mr Mundine said. 'I can bet you a dollar that if it happens in Victoria then other Labor governments will be looking at doing this across Australia.' The Victorian government has a deadline of 24 months to respond and implement the recommendations, which are non-binding, with Ms Allan conceding that 'the recommendations and indeed the findings are incredibly challenging'.
Sky News AU
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Melbourne street sweeper sacked for objecting to an Acknowledgment of Country declares it was a 'good thing to do'
Melbourne street sweeper Shaun Turner has stood his ground since being sacked by a left-wing council after objecting to an Acknowledgement of Country last year. Mr Turner, who won his unfair dismissal case last week, told Sky News the Acknowledgements were 'getting overdone' and 'out of hand'. Last week, it was revealed Mr Turner was dismissed by Darebin City Council in June 2024 for questioning why an Acknowledgement of Country was being introduced at a toolbox meeting involving the street cleaning team. At the time, Mr Turner insisted if anyone should be thanked, it was the "people who have worn the uniform and fought for our country to keep us free". Speaking to Sky News on Monday night, Mr Turner said the Acknowledgement of Country was a 'strange thing to do', particularly since he and his team had no prior knowledge of it happening. 'If you go to eight meetings you're probably going to get eight 'acknowledgement of the country's, so you spend half your day at it,' he said. Mr Turner was asked if the whole process with the Fair Work Commission was worth it. 'It probably was a good thing to do because it's just getting out of hand, like a toolbox meeting, get fair dinkum,' he said. 'From the reactions that have gone on from the silent majority, it seems to have stirred up a bit of a hornet's nest.' Mr Turner revealed he was told he was being stood down eight weeks after the meeting while he was driving home from work. The Melbourne street cleaner was then asked jokingly if he was racist for objecting to the Acknowledgement of Country and whether he had a problem with Indigenous people. 'It's a pretty easy word to throw at someone that you're racist. You look at someone different and they'll just come back with, 'you're a racist,'' he said. 'No, I'm not racist. My niece is actually Aboriginal. And she's got three beautiful boys and one wild daughter. So I have no problems with Aboriginals.' Mr Turner said growing up in Broadmeadows he would play football with a 'great family of Aboriginal boys' and became good friends with one of them. He said this friend had become his brother-in-law and had "ended up with my sister". Asked if he had any help in navigating the dismissal and the Fair Work Commission hearing, Mr Turner said 'Emma from the union was pretty good'. '(She) helped me all the way until I was sort of dismissed and then I put it into the Fair Work Commission and then asked the union, who then asked their solicitors and their solicitors weren't prepared to take the case on,' he said. 'So I was left to handle it all myself.' First reported by The Australian , Mr Turner told the council managers investigating his alleged "serious misconduct" that he believed an Acknowledgement of Country should only be invoked for special occasions. The Darebin City Council's chief people officer Yvette Fuller told the street cleaner that there were "very strong expectations" the Acknowledgement was to be undertaken at "all formal meetings". The council terminated Mr Turner and alleged he said the Acknowledgement was not necessary and that Indigenous people did not "deserve an acknowledgement at the start of meetings'. Fair Work Commission deputy president Richard Clancy found the council misrepresented Mr Turner's comments. Mr Turner, who is approaching retirement age, has sought a full reinstatement and another commission hearing will be held to determine further remedies.
