Debate over AFL Semi-Final Welcome to Country Rekindled as Pauline Hanson Pushes for Its Removal
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has reiterated her call to ban Welcome to Country ceremonies after a slightly unusual one took place before the AFL semi-final last weekend.
During the AFL semi-final between GWS Giants and Brisbane Lions at Sydney’s Engie Stadium, Aboriginal Elder Brendan Kerin performed a traditional Welcome to Country ceremony that sparked debate.
Senator Pauline Hanson criticized the ceremony, stating, “A Welcome to Country is not a welcome to Australia. Within Australia, we have many Aboriginal lands, and we refer to our lands as ‘country.’ So it’s always a welcome to the lands you’ve gathered on.”
She emphasized that the ceremony is an ancient custom that is not solely for white Australians, saying, “It’s a ceremony we’ve been doing for 250,000 years-plus BC. And the BC stands for Before Cook.”
Before European settlement, there were around 250 individual Aboriginal nations, each with at least one unique language.
Aboriginal Elder Iris White explained, “What we actually do in a Welcome to Country is that we are welcoming people into a relationship with us. It’s not ‘Here’s our country, welcome to it.’ Our culture is based on relationships and reciprocity, and that is what we’re actually doing.”
Applause, Laughs
The crowd’s reaction included applause and some laughter.
Indigenous leader Warren Mundine expressed that Welcome to Country ceremonies have gone “overboard,” while others criticized the political correctness and frequency of these ceremonies.
Australians ‘Sick And Tired’: Hanson
Pauline Hanson reiterated her call to end Welcome to Country ceremonies, describing them as “racially divisive” and stating that Australians are “sick and tired of them.”
She believes these ceremonies deny the citizenship and sovereignty held equally by all Australians and should stop.
Hanson’s post on X has garnered significant attention, with many agreeing with her stance against Welcome to Country ceremonies.
