Aboriginal leader reveals major change in Welcome to Country that must happen now
Indigenous leader Warren Mundine has proposed a solution that he says would end the current controversy surrounding the Welcome to Country ceremony.
In an interview on Sky News AustraliaMr Mundine discussed the contentious issue that sparked national debate following a performance of the ceremony at an AFL match by Indigenous elder Brendan Kerin on September 14.
Presenter James Macpherson asked Mundine whether Welcome to Country should be structured in such a way as to avoid ‘political nonsense’.
“You’re a genius, I was thinking about that yesterday,” Mr Mundine said to Macpherson.
‘I’m currently talking to some Bundjalung people back home about actually doing that. We have a script, a few paragraphs or something, where we welcome people and do it in a good way by bringing them together rather than dividing them.’
Mr Kerin’s performance of Welcome to Country went viral ahead of the AFL semi-final between GWS Giants and Brisbane Lions at Sydney Olympic Park.
During his performance, Mr. Kerin addressed the sold-out crowd and told them that such rituals were not actually for “white people.”
“I am here tonight to perform the Welcome to Country ceremony… Welcome to Country is not welcome to Australia,” Mr Kerin said.
Indigenous leader Warren Mundine has proposed a solution he believes will end the current controversy surrounding the Welcome to Country ceremony
Brendan Kerin’s (pictured) performance of Welcome to Country went viral ahead of the AFL semi-final between GWS Giants and Brisbane Lions on September 14
‘Within Australia we have many Aboriginal lands and we call our lands ‘country’. So it is always a welcome to the lands where you have come together.
“Welcome to the Country” is not a ceremony that we created specifically for white people.
“It’s a ceremony that we’ve been performing for over 250,000 years before Christ. BC stands for Before Cook.”
Party leader Pauline Hanson called the comments divisive and said Kerin’s remarks had left football fans “with questions in mind”.
“If (Welcome to Country ceremonies) are not meant for white people, why are white people continually subjected to them?” she asked on the Senate floor Tuesday.
On her websiteMs. Hanson vowed to “turn her back” on performances of Welcome to Country.
During his interview with Sky News Australia, Mundine criticised Ms Hanson, saying her suggestion only deepened the division.
“We want them to go back to the original concept, which is that we welcome people, we say hello, you’re here, we welcome you,” he said.
“I think we need to go back to the concept of actually welcoming people, working together and not creating division.”
Mr Mundine said Welcome to Country should be scripted (stock image)
Mr Mundine said Welcome to Country was “a wonderful idea, where we are telling people we welcome them”.
“It’s starting to look like a very divided political movement,” he said.
“Look, I’m sorry Pauline. I think you went a step too far.”
Mr Mundine indicated that Mr Kerin’s performance of Welcome to Country also caused division.
“He also fell into the Pauline Hanson lineage,” he said.
“He’s causing division. Let’s get back to what this is really about.”
