Log in or become a subscriber

Questioning the need for an Acknowledgement of Country at the beginning of a weekly meeting was not misconduct that warranted dismissal, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.

Deputy President Richard Clancy accepted an employee used sarcasm to express his opinion that Acknowledgements of Country were "at risk of overuse", but said it wasn't "an intention to vilify".

In May last year, Darebin City Council stood down the sweeper driver pending an investigation into his conduct at an April toolbox meeting.

It concluded that he had interrupted an Acknowledgement of Country by stating in a "disrespectful, sarcastic and aggressive" manner that it was "not necessary", and that Indigenous people did "not deserve an acknowledgment at the start of meetings"...