Rebellious senior behind viral Welcome to Country breaks his silence — and makes shocking new claims

The defiant Aboriginal elder whose controversial Welcome to Country speech sparked outrage across the country this week has mocked the “absolute stupidity” of his critics.

Brendan Kerin went viral after he performed the ceremony ahead of the AFL semi-final between GWS Giants and Brisbane Lions at Sydney Olympic Park on September 14 last Saturday.

As part of his performance, he addressed the sold-out crowd and told them that such rituals are not really for ‘white people’.

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.

Her thoughts were shared by a range of leading commentators, including Mr Kerin, a cultural pedagogue with Sydney‘s Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, which is continually asked to explain its positions.

He is finally broke his silence on the controversy in an interview with NITV on Friday and used the opportunity to accuse four of his biggest critics of being on the wrong side of history.

“Given all the feedback, we can sit back and watch the absolute stupidity and ignorance of what people are saying,” he said.

Brendan Kerin, a cultural educator at the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council in Sydney, has called out the “absolute stupidity” of his critics

Mr Kerin held a controversial Welcome to Country ceremony during the AFL semi-finals on September 14, prompting One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson to respond in parliament

‘People like Andrew Bolt, Pauline Hanson, Jacinta Price see [and] Warren Mundine [speak out] confirms that I am on the right track.’

Thinking about the negative reactions to his controversial remarks, Krein said he would only change one thing about his speech.

“If I were to do it again, I would go on a little longer, but I wouldn’t change a word,” he said.

Ms Hanson said Mr Kerin’s latest comments would only add to the growing backlash over the controversial ceremony.

“After seeing this news story and hearing about the redoubling of the stakes, I believe even more Australians will join us in calling out the damaging divisions these ceremonies create,” she said.

“I am shocked that the genuine concerns of ordinary Australians are being dismissed as ‘ignorant’ and ‘stupid’.

“We should not be lectured about our own home.”

Ms Hanson has long been a critic of the Welcome to Country ritual and has previously called for it to be cancelled at taxpayer-funded events, arguing that Australians do not need to be welcomed back to their own homeland.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson described Kerin’s claim that Welcome to Country was ‘not for white people’ as ‘divisive’ in the Senate on Tuesday

Mr Kerin said that if he could give the speech again, he would make it longer

It was that specific criticism that Mr. Kerin responded to last weekend during his now infamous Welcome to Country ceremony.

“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,” Mr Kerin said.

“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, and BC stands for Before Cook.

‘Before colonization, you could get into big trouble if you walked onto someone else’s land without being welcome there.

“It is always an honor for me to perform this ceremony.”

Andrew Bolt described the speech as ‘the most unwelcome welcome’ he had ever heard

The speech was met with applause, after which Mr Kerin played a short piece on the didgeridoo and Mimi Velevska sang Advance Australia Fair and the competition began.

In addition to Ms. Hanson, all of the critics named by Krein appeared in various media outlets to criticize his interpretation of the ceremony.

“This man gave a Welcome to Country speech during the AFL semi-final on Saturday which showed that this so-called ‘traditional ceremony’ has become an insult to our intelligence,” Bolt said on his broadcast which aired on Tuesday.

‘[It] was the most unfriendly welcome I have ever heard.’

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price tells Sky News she is ‘over’ the Welcome to Country campaign

Warren Mundine says the controversial ceremonies are ‘now starting to get a bit out of hand’

Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, told Sky News that she was ‘over it’ by Sunday.

‘There’s a lot of reinvention of culture going on [and] “It’s becoming a bit of a fantasy,” Ms. Price said.

“It’s become ridiculous and we just need to get Australian again.”

The last critic of Mr Kerin whom he named, the advocate for indigenous affairs, Mr Mundine, told Melbourne’s 3AW The ‘Welcome to Country’ ceremonies began to lose their luster.

“I think it’s a bit over the top now… it’s just gone crazy,” Mundine said.

‘A lot has been said about it and it is starting to lose its shine.’

Mr Mundine indicated that he himself had delivered several speeches on the occasion of the Welcome Address to the Country, but that he had delivered those speeches to people who did not live in the country or at nationalisation ceremonies.