Pauline Hanson erupts at Welcome to Country and says what a lot of Aussies are thinking after AFL ceremony sparked backlash
Pauline Hanson has slammed Welcome to Country ceremonies claiming they are racially divisive and that Australians are sick and tired of listening to them.
Pauline Hanson has slammed Welcome to Country ceremonies claiming they are racially divisive and that Australians are sick and tired of listening to them.
The One Nation leader blasted the ceremonies in a post shared to social media platform X on Monday.
Her criticism came after cultural educator Brendan Kerin delivered a Welcome to Country ahead of an AFL semi-final at Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday night.
His address turned into a brief explanation on the significance of the ceremony and made the extraordinary suggestion that the ceremonies had been in place for 250,000 years - prompting some fans to vent their frustration.
Ms Hanson was the latest to join the pile-on with her scathing attack.
As I have said in the past, these Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country performances are one of the most racially divisive features of modern discourse in Australia, she wrote.
Australians are sick and tired of them. They are sick of being told Australia is not their country, which is what these things effectively do.
Welcomes and acknowledgements deny the citizenship and sovereignty held equally by all Australians and they need to stop.
Pauline Hanson has slammed Welcome to Country ceremonies claiming they are racially divisive and that Australians are sick and tired of listening to them
Ms Hanson added leading Voice campaigner Marcia Langton had previously vowed to stop Welcome to Country ceremonies if the referendum failed to pass.
The Indigenous Voice to Parliament was rejected after 60 per cent of Australians voted No in with October 2023 referendum.
I recall the promise made by leading voice campaigner Marcia Langton who promised no more "welcomes to country" if the Voice was rejected, Ms Hanson wrote.
Sadly, this promise has not been delivered. Australians should not be forced to participate in or be subjected to these divisive performances. Enough is enough.
In his speech, Mr Kerin addressed criticisms of Welcome to Country ceremonies, including claims Aussies do not need welcoming to their own country.
Im here this evening to perform a ceremony of Welcome to Country... a Welcome to Country is not a welcome to Australia, he said.
Within Australia we have many Aboriginal lands and we refer to our lands as country. So its always a welcome to the lands youve gathered on.
A welcome to country is not a ceremony we invented to cater to white people.
Its a ceremony weve been doing for 250,000 years-plus BC - and the BC stands for Before Cook.
Some of the crowd chuckled at the abbreviation, which referred to Captain James Cook arrival in Australia in 1770 prior to the start of European settlement in 1788.
Mr Kerins timeline was at odds with historical assessments that the ancestors of the Aboriginal people first migrated to the continent between 50,000 and 70,000 years ago.
Prior to colonisation you could get yourself into a lot of trouble for walking on someone elses lands without being welcomed onto those lands, Mr Kerin said.
So, for me its always an honour to perform this ceremony.
Her criticism came after cultural educator Brendan Kerin delivered a Welcome to Country ahead of an AFL semi-final at Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday night
Some social media users agreed with Ms Hansons sentiments, with many claiming the address divides Australians.
As an Indigenous Australian, Im sick and tired of the welcome to country it is fake, made up and very divisive. We want to watch football, not listen to politics, one wrote.
I think this is the first time ever Ive agreed with Pauline Hanson. Its not a Welcome to Country its a massive guilt trip, another commented.
A third person chimed: They don’t unite Australians. These Welcome to Country ceremonies only serve to keep bad blood flowing.
Others disagreed, claiming Ms Hanson was causing the divide and not the Welcome to Country ceremonies.
There’s the pot calling the kettle black, you & your odious party of s**t are the most racially divisive thing in this country, one wrote.
My family and I are very lucky to be born in Australia. I dont feel guilty for being Australian I feel proud, another commented.
A third added: You really don’t understand how this works do you. The country doesn’t mean Australia. It means the country area (Gadigal country etc).
