Melbourne Storm pay heavy price for Welcome to Country snub as major partner cuts ties with club
Victorian Aboriginal Health Services have ended their partnership with the Melbourne Storm after the NRL club moved to axe its Anzac Day Welcome to Country ceremony at the 11th-hour.
Wurundjeri elder Aunty Joy Murphy revealed she had been told the ceremony would not go ahead at the same time First Nations dancers were doing final rehearsals for the performance.
Although the club almost immediately backflipped and issued an apology, those participating in the ceremony said they were left "dumbfounded" and the performance was cancelled.
In a statement on Thursday, VAHS said it had cut ties with the Melbourne Storm due to their 'lack of respect and cultural sensitivity'.
'The Victorian Aboriginal Health Service has made the difficult decision to withdraw our partnership on the Deadly Choices campaign with Melbourne Storm, effective immediately,' the statement read.
'Our decision is directly related to the Melbourne Storm Board's decision to cancel Aunty Joy's Welcome to Country at the Anzac Day match. Storm vs. Rabbitohs.
'This decision directly had a hurtful impact on Aunty Joy, the Djirri Djirri dancers, and the Wurundjeri People. We are mindful that the negative ripple effect was also felt by Aboriginal people across Naarm, the state, and the nation.
'The decision made by the Melbourne Storm Board demonstrated a lack of respect and cultural sensitivity towards Aboriginal people and Communities, specifically in relation to the treatment and recognition of Aunty Joy and the Wurundjeri People, particularly their cultural protocols and practices.'
The Deadly Choices campaign was an initative with the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health aimed at encouraging Indigenous Australians to eat well and exercise more frequently.
Following the decision to end the partnership, VAHS will no longer be a community outlet for NRL Indigenous round tickets or Melbourne Storm home games and will also cease organising for local Koori children to play halftime exhibition games.
The organisation added Melbourne Storm's decision had fostered sadness and anger in the community and among stakeholders.
'Our organisation is dedicated to fostering respectful, inclusive and culturally safe environments for Aboriginal People, and unfortunately, the actions and decisions taken by the Melbourne Storm Board have compromised these principles,' VAHS' statement read.
Wurundjeri elder Aunty Joy described the incident as "hurtful" given she wanted to honour her father, who was a veteran, by wearing his medals during the ceremony, The Age reported.
'We would dearly love to be out there, but they've broken our hearts," she said.
'We want to rebuild our relationship. We want to make them (realise) that this was wrong, hurtful, deceitful and tokenistic.'
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