AUDIO: Protestors interrupt Melbourne dawn Anzac service
The Melbourne Anzac Day service was marred by booing from a small group of people during the Welcome to Country ceremony.
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The Age
29-04-2025
- The Age
Peter Dutton's Welcome to Country claim comes from a common misconception about the ancient ceremony
Follow our live coverage of the 2025 federal election here. Two days after a neo-Nazi demonstrator booed Bunurong elder Uncle Mark Brown while he was delivering a traditional Welcome to Country at a Melbourne Anzac Day dawn service, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton were asked about it. Albanese said it's an organisation's own prerogative to open events with a Welcome to Country but noted they are 'matter of respect'. Meanwhile, Dutton said it's 'fair enough', as a mark of respect, to have a Welcome to Country for the opening of parliament, but 'to do it for the start of every meeting at work, or the start of a football game, I think other Australians think it is overdone and cheapens the significance of what it was meant to do … It's dividing the country, not dissimilar to what the prime minister did with the Voice.' Putting sentiment to one side, on a fact basis, Dutton's statement isn't entirely correct. He's conflated two different concepts. What is a Welcome to Country, and how is it different from an Acknowledgement of Country? 'There are two different things that have become conflated in this debate,' federal politics reporter Natassia Chrysanthos tells host Samantha Selinger-Morris in a new episode of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age 's podcast The Morning Edition. 'People say, '[Welcomes to Country] are overdone. They don't need to be done before every meeting at work'. You're probably not talking about a welcome in that context. You're talking about an Acknowledgement … they are different practices performed with different intentions.' To listen to the full episode, click the player below or read on for a summary of the conversation.
Sydney Morning Herald
29-04-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Peter Dutton's Welcome to Country claim comes from a common misconception about the ancient ceremony
Follow our live coverage of the 2025 federal election here. Two days after a neo-Nazi demonstrator booed Bunurong elder Uncle Mark Brown while he was delivering a traditional Welcome to Country at a Melbourne Anzac Day dawn service, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton were asked about it. Albanese said it's an organisation's own prerogative to open events with a Welcome to Country but noted they are 'matter of respect'. Meanwhile, Dutton said it's 'fair enough', as a mark of respect, to have a Welcome to Country for the opening of parliament, but 'to do it for the start of every meeting at work, or the start of a football game, I think other Australians think it is overdone and cheapens the significance of what it was meant to do … It's dividing the country, not dissimilar to what the prime minister did with the Voice.' Putting sentiment to one side, on a fact basis, Dutton's statement isn't entirely correct. He's conflated two different concepts. What is a Welcome to Country, and how is it different from an Acknowledgement of Country? 'There are two different things that have become conflated in this debate,' federal politics reporter Natassia Chrysanthos tells host Samantha Selinger-Morris in a new episode of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age 's podcast The Morning Edition. 'People say, '[Welcomes to Country] are overdone. They don't need to be done before every meeting at work'. You're probably not talking about a welcome in that context. You're talking about an Acknowledgement … they are different practices performed with different intentions.' To listen to the full episode, click the player below or read on for a summary of the conversation.
Sky News AU
27-04-2025
- Sky News AU
Albanese and Dutton clash over future of Welcome to Country ceremonies
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton sharply disagreed over the future of Welcome to Country ceremonies in Australia. The debate comes after a controversial disruption during the Melbourne Anzac Day dawn service, where attendees booed the Welcome to Country. During the final leaders' debate, hosted by Channel 7, both Mr Albanese and Mr Dutton were asked whether they would continue to feature the ceremony at official events. Mr Dutton, who has previously declared that he would not stand in front of the Indigenous or Torres Strait Islander flags as prime minister, argued that the practice had become overdone. 'Our most sacred day of the year (is) Anzac Day, and a time to respect diggers and not a time for booing any part of the ceremony,' he said. 'In relation to the Welcome to Country otherwise, I think it is, and people have said to me as we had moved across the country… there is a sense across the community that it is overdone. 'For the opening of Parliament, fair enough, it is respectful to do. But for the start of every meeting at work, or the start of a football game, Australians think it is overdone. 'It cheapens the significance of what it was meant to do, it divides the country, not dissimilar to what the prime ministers did with the Voice (referendum).' Mr Dutton confirmed he would have the ceremony reserved for significant official events, such as the opening of Parliament. In contrast, Mr Albanese firmly defended the practice, framing it as a sign of respect for the Indigenous people of Australia. 'From my perspective, it is a matter of respect but it is also up to the organisations that are hosting the event, whether they have a Welcome to Country or not,' he said. 'We have a great privilege, from my perspective, of sharing this continent with the oldest continuous culture on Earth. 'And when I welcome international visitors to Parliament House, they want to see that culture.' The debate followed the disruption at the Melbourne Anzac Day service, where multiple individuals booed during the Welcome to Country. Mr Dutton and Mr Albanese both condemned the disruption, with Albanese calling it 'an act of cowardice.' They also both confirmed they would maintain Australia Day on January 26, amid protests of the national celebration.
