Public servants with the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General were reportedly taken aback after being asked to “take their shoes off” during a Welcome to Country at a recent event.
According to the Courier Mail, bureaucrats were urged to “take their shoes off, wiggle their toes and close their eyes so they would feel more connected to the Earth”.
It came as the staff attended an awards ceremony.
According to the publication, some were sceptical of the request.
“The Welcome to Country raised eyebrows among some staff, who questioned whether it would become a regular occurrence,” it reported.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice and Attorney-General told SkyNews.com.au on Tuesday an Acknowledgement of Country had been conducted at the event and said the nature of the ceremonies can vary.
“A Welcome to Country or Acknowledgement of Country is conducted at appropriate government-organised events, including awards ceremonies and conferences,” they said.
“They can take many forms and often differ, according to the nature of the event and the presenter. For example, a Welcome to Country can encompass singing, dancing or smoking ceremonies.”
Sky News host Liz Storer ridiculed the request for staff to take off their shoes on a panel on Sunday.
“My first question upon reading this was, were they even outside?” she said.
“Unless you’re outside that doesn’t even make any sense.
“I want to know how many brow-beaten bureaucrats were like ‘well I guess we’ve got to’.”
It comes after a Reddit user took to the internet last week to voice their thoughts after a hiring manager performed a Welcome to Country during a job interview.
The job applicant detailed the “weird and unnecessary” act which occurred during an interview for a for a customer service role.
According to the Reddit user, the incident occurred at the start of the group interview involving less than five candidates.
“At the time I didn’t give it a second thought but in retrospect it’s pretty weird and unnecessary,” they wrote.
“The (anglo) hiring manager took it upon himself to do a welcome to country.”
Many were quick to side with the user, agreeing it was not necessary.
“It feels pointless to me at every meeting,” one said.
“We used to do one at the start of every all hands at a company I worked at pre COVID. It was cringy AF and clearly read off a script/not heartfelt,” another commented.