‘Lies’: Hanson urges Aussies to ignore Welcome to Country ceremonies in wake of AFL controversy

Firebrand politician Pauline Hanson has called for Australians to push back against Welcome to Country ceremonies conducted by Indigenous people.

The One Nation leader delivered a fiery statement in the Senate on Tuesday afternoon, describing the tradition as “divisive” and something “many people tell me they are just over”.

Her remarks follow ongoing controversy over a Welcome to Country performed before the GWS Giants and Brisbane Lions AFL semi-final clash on Saturday.

Brendan Kerin, a cultural educator from the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, took to the field at ENGIE Stadium in Sydney and bounty declared the custom, typically conducted before major events and meetings, is “not for white people”.

“A Welcome to Country is not a ceremony we’ve invented to cater for white people,” Mr Kerin said. “It’s a ceremony we’ve been doing for 250,000 years-plus BC. And the BC stands for Before Cook.”

The remarks drew the ire of many who felt it was a departure from the norm and felt more like a lecture that some on social media labelled “a disgrace”.

Senator Hanson agreed and called for the practice to cease.

“If they (Welcome to Country ceremonies) are not to cater to white people, then why are white people constantly subjected to them?” Senator Hanson said in the Senate.

“These welcomes are based on lies that Australia is not our home. So many people tell me they are just over it.”

She said the “divisive … nonsense” had been “allowed to fester for too long” and described Welcome to Country ceremonies as “radical racial antagonism disguised as reconciliation”.

The practice is “imposed on children before they even get to school”, she added.

“Australia is home to all Australians, and we don’t need or want to be welcomed to our own home.

We have shed blood, sweat and tears to build our home, and defend our home. We have as much right to live in our home as anyone else.

“If you hand over my home to someone else, I have nothing to fight for. If you hand over Australia, I will not defend it, and neither will my children.”

Senator Hanson also took a dig at Mr Kerin and others Aboriginal elders typically called upon to deliver the Welcome to Country.

“Being an elder doesn’t obligate my respect – respect is earned, not given away to racial exceptionalism. Being Aboriginal does not make someone exceptional.

“Being an Australian is what makes you exceptional. That’s the identity we all share.”

She vowed to “turn my back” on the practice when it’s conducted in parliament and at public events.

“I strongly encourage other Australians to do the same. Stop being walked over, and stand up for your home.”

Her Senate remarks followed a similarly sharp commentary shared to social media, in which she took a shot at Indigenous academic Marcia Langton.

During the debate surrounding The Voice referendum, Ms Langton had vowed to retreat from the public eye if the vote failed.

“I recall the promise made by leading voice campaigner Marcia Langton, who promised no more ‘welcomes to country’ if The Voice was rejected,” Senator Hanson wrote on Facebook.

“Sadly, this promise has not been delivered.”

Others have also expressed displeasure at Mr Kerin’s remarks since Saturday, including Collingwood great Tony Shaw, who took a swipe at the AFL over the furore.

“What a weak politically correct organisation the AFL is,” he wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“The political decisiveness [divisiveness] of welcome to country last night was embarrassing but any public rebuke?”

Football commentator and Channel 9 identity Tony Jones echoed the sentiment, saying having a Welcome to Country at games was “counter-productive” and “creating divisions”.

“There’s a problem and the AFL must address this or at least discuss this morning in their review of the weekend,” he said.

“This is an observance, but during Saturday night’s Welcome to Country there was laughter through it and I’ll tell you why because these welcomes should not be personal agendas.

“They shouldn’t be there for political statements. I’m not sure whether the AFL vets the scripts or maybe they will as of now.

“If this is all designed to sort of unify Australia, I think it’s creating division when we see or hear welcomes like that.”

During his Welcome to Country at the weekend, Mr Kerin explained that the ‘country’ referred to was the traditional lands of Indigenous people – not Australia.

“Prior to colonisation, you could get yourself in a lot of trouble for walking on someone else’s lands without being welcomed onto those lands,” he explained.

“So, for me, it’s always an honour to perform this ceremony.

“Welcome to the lands of the Wangal people and the home of the mighty Giants”.

Mr Kerin, who received more warm applause after his speech, then played a short piece on a didgeridoo before the National Anthem was sung by Mimi Velevska.

Originally published as ‘Lies’: Hanson urges Aussies to ignore Welcome to Country ceremonies in wake of AFL controversy