Latest news with #ShaunTurner
Sky News AU
2 days ago
- 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.
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
‘Getting overdone': Melbourne street sweeper speaks out after unfair dismissal case win
Melbourne street sweeper Shaun Turner speaks out in an exclusive interview following his unfair dismissal case win against left-wing council after objecting to Acknowledgement of Country. 'I just thought it was overdoing it.' Mr Turner told Sky News host James Macpherson. 'We are at a toolbox meeting, no special occasion or anything like that and I just thought it's getting overdone.'
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
WATCH LIVE: Street sweeper sacked over Acknowledgement of Country objection speaks to Sky News after winning unfair dismissal challenge
The man at the centre of a now-famous unfair dismissal case over an Acknowledgement of Country will speak to Sky News on Monday night about why he decided to go public. Shaun Turner's decision to object to an Acknowledgement of Country at a toolbox meeting cost him his job, but he has since won an unfair dismissal case against Melbourne's Darebin City Council. Mr Turner has become a symbol for those who believe Acknowledgements of Country have lost their meaning, and will discuss his reaction to his new-found fame on The Bolt Report. Watch the interview live on The Bolt Report from 7.30pm with a Streaming Subscription.
AU Financial Review
3 days ago
- Politics
- AU Financial Review
Why welcome to country is a brake on economic reform
It appears that Shaun Turner, a street sweeper from Melbourne, reflects the values of 'modern' Australian more than many of our political leaders. Turner was sacked by Darebin City Council, in inner-city Melbourne, for objecting to the practice of an acknowledgment of country at morning meetings. The Fair Work Commission ruled the sacking was unlawful, and is determining appropriate redress.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Street cleaner breaks his silence after being sacked for objecting to an Acknowledgment of Country
A street sweeper who won an unfair dismissal claim after he was fired for objecting to an Acknowledgment of Country has broken his silence. Melbourne man Shaun Turner, 60, was sacked from his role as a street sweeper for Darebin City Council in June 2024 after he questioned the ceremony at a toolbox meeting. The council worker, whose father served in World War II, told the meeting: 'If you need to be thanking anyone, it's the people who have worn the uniform and fought for our country to keep us free.' 'It's getting out of hand and people are losing it, it is now being done at the opening of a postage stamp.' Council officers investigated Mr Turner's alleged 'serious misconduct' but the father-of-three doubled down and he was let go. 'As far as I know half of us are born here, I don't need to be welcomed to my own country. If people don't want to be there, they can leave,' Mr Turner told the officers. Mr Turner also told officers that Acknowledgement of Country should be reserved for more formal or international occasions. The Fair Work Commission upheld his unfair dismissal claim, with Mr Turner believing his legal win resonated with the 'silent majority' of people in Australia. Mr Turner, who voted Liberal at the recent election, said 'of course' the country had become too politically correct. 'I just feel like if you were a pale, stale male you can't go to work now and have a laugh,' Mr Turner told The Australian. 'If me and you are having a laugh over here, and he (a third person) takes it to management, well, next minute we're getting a warning for not being inclusive.' Mr Turner explained he holds 'centre right' views and dislikes both Anthony Albanese and Dan Andrews. He added the workplace was being overrun by 'programmed robots', with everyone having to be careful with what they say. Fair Work Commission Deputy President Richard Clancy ruled in favour of Mr Turner labelling his dismissal as 'harsh' and 'disproportionate'. The commission is set to hold a hearing to consider Mr Turner's request for reinstatement and to determine the remedy for the unfair dismissal. Mr Turner said he would not speak about the details of his case as the commission was deliberating, however he wanted it known that his actions were not racially motivated. 'When it comes to this, the first thing that happens is you are labelled racist. I may not like a lot of people but I have no problem with Aboriginal people,' Mr Turner said. 'I played football, I was brought up with people of all races in Broadmeadows. Some you get on with, some you don't. The easy thing to throw around these days if you can't win an argument is to call someone racist.' Mr Turner believes Acknowledgement of Country is unsuitable for small meetings and should rather be reserved for large events attended by international visitors. Before Mr Turner was dismissed, he attended another meeting with Council Chief of People Officer Yvette Fuller. Ms Fuller informed Mr Turner that there was a firm expectation for an Acknowledgment of Country to precede all formal meetings. Mr Turner questioned: 'Why didn't we do it in this meeting then?,' to which Ms Fuller then asked: 'Are you saying you will continue to disrupt an Acknowledgement of Country?'. 'I won't disrupt it but I want to be asked if I would like you to give me the courtesy to step outside,' he replied. In his termination letter, Darebin City Council alleged during the May 21, 2024 meeting that Mr Turner had said 'the Acknowledgment of Country is not necessary'. The council further alleged Mr Turner said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders 'do not deserve an acknowledgment at the start of meetings'. But Fair Work Commission's Deputy President Richard Clancy found Mr Turner's statements were not delivered in the manner or tone alleged by the council. 'I am not persuaded that Mr Turner said either 'The Acknowledgment of Country is not necessary' or that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders 'do not deserve an acknowledgment at the start of meetings',' Mr Clancy said. 'I am satisfied, however, that Mr Turner made a comment to the effect that if anyone was to be acknowledged or thanked at a toolbox meeting, it should be the servicemen and women who had fought for this country (i.e. Australia) but I do not consider that expressing such an opinion constitutes a valid reason for dismissal.' Mr Clancy said the Acknowledgement of Country would have caught the members of the street cleaning team off guard. He added Mr Turner's specific question 'are you joking?' and his reference to the 'opening of a postage stamp' was the articulation of a reaction of surprise. 'I regard Mr Turner's various comments as having been a spontaneous expression of his opinion that Acknowledgements of Country are appropriate on special occasions but one was not necessary at the toolbox meeting,' Mr Clancy said. 'His comments were laced with his underlying frustration in relation to the various issues pertaining to his work. 'I have not been persuaded these particular comments of Mr Turner either rise to the level of having been disrespectful and aggressive in tone, or that they were perceived by anyone to be so.' Mr Clancy labelled Mr Turner's dismissal as 'harsh' and 'disproportionate' to the context within which his comments were made. 'I reiterate that even if the reasons for the dismissal relating to the comments about Acknowledgements of Country and Mr Turner's colleague were regarded as valid, the dismissal was harsh,' Mr Clancy said. 'It was disproportionate having regard to the context within which his comments were made and Mr Turner's circumstances.' The Council's submissions indicated that it took particular offence to Mr Turner's use of the word 'courtesy' when asked if he would be given the option to 'step outside' during an Acknowledgement of Country. Council said the use of the word 'displayed contempt to the council's Indigenous employees and community'. But Mr Clancy disagreed with the council's assessment. 'That Mr Turner holds a different point of view when it comes to Acknowledgements of Country does not, of itself, make him contemptuous of the Respondents.' Mr Clancy noted that both Ms Fuller and Elizabeth Skinner, who was the city works manager at the time, were sufficiently concerned by Mr Turner's conduct that they each contacted his Indigenous support person after the meeting to offer an apology. However, during the Fair Work proceedings, there was no evidence given to show the support person felt offended. In his testimony for the Fair Work claim, Mr Turner said he believed he was 'being made out to be a racist'. 'I've got to say that I was brought up on Broadmeadows. I come from a family of eight,' he said. 'My best friends out at Broadmeadows happen to be Aboriginal [people], one of them marrying my sister. I have a niece and great-niece and nephews who are all Aboriginal.'
