9 hours ago
Twist as street cleaner sacked for refusing to do an Acknowledgement of Country was out playing GOLF while his fed-up boss completed mandatory racism modules on his behalf
A street cleaner who won an unfair dismissal claim after being sacked for objecting to an Acknowledgement of Country never completed mandatory racism modules for the council because he was on leave playing golf at the time.
Shaun Turner was dismissed by the Darebin City Council in Melbourne 's inner north after he questioned why the ceremony was being performed at his weekly 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,' he said.
But the 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.
The decision from Mr Clancy, included yet another alarming detail.
The council used a 'Record of Learning Report' in its defence to show Mr Turner had completed online training modules, including on racial discrimination, in relation to the council's Equal Employment Policy and Code of Conduct in March 2023.
But Mr Turner disputed this, with unchallenged evidence revealing the street cleaner was on leave playing golf when the training allegedly took place.
Instead, his team leader allegedly completed the modules for him after growing 'annoyed' by notifications sent to him outlining that they had not yet been completed.
Mr Turner told the commission 'he could not have completed these e-courses... because he did not have access to a computer while on leave'.
The council maintained that the 'Record of Learning Report' could only have been generated as a result of the use of Mr Turner's private credentials at the specific times and dates.
'Mr Turner's response to this was that his team leader knew his password,' the decision noted.
The new details come as workplace legal expert Andrew Stewart slammed the council's behaviour as a 'case study in how not to go about a dismissal'.
'The council really should have been aware that this was likely to be pursued and should have been more careful about the way they went through the process,' Mr Stewart told The Australian.
'But clearly the commission wasn't satisfied that they even reached the point of establishing a valid reason for dismissal, let alone went about the dismissal in a fair way.'
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Darebin City Council about the Record of Learning Report and to ask whether Mr Turner has been reinstated.
It was during the toolbox meeting on April 17, 2024, that Mr Turner reportedly said people should be thanking veterans rather than performing the Acknowledgement.
'It's getting out of hand and people are losing it, it is now being done at the opening of a postage stamp,' he said.
Council officers investigated Mr Turner's alleged 'serious misconduct', but he doubled down.
'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 council officers.
Mr Turner also told officers that an Acknowledgement of Country should be reserved for more formal or international occasions.
At another meeting, Council Chief People Officer Yvette Fuller told Mr Turner that there was a firm expectation for an Acknowledgement of Country to precede all formal meetings.
'Why didn't we do it in this meeting then?' Mr Turner hit back.
'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 Acknowledgement of Country is not necessary'.
The council further alleged Mr Turner said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders 'do not deserve an acknowledgement at the start of meetings'.
But Mr Clancy was not persuaded 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'.
'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),' he said.
'But I do not consider that expressing such an opinion constitutes a valid reason for dismissal.'
In his testimony, Mr Turner claimed he was 'being made out to be a racist'.
'I've got to say that I was brought up in Broadmeadows. I come from a family of eight. My best friends out at Broadmeadows happen to be Aboriginal [people], one of them marrying my sister,' he said.
'I have a niece and great-niece and nephews who are all Aboriginal.'
The Fair Work Commission will hold a subsequent hearing to consider Mr Turner's request for reinstatement and determine the remedy for the unfair dismissal.
