‘Don't think it's appropriate': Andrew Hastie and Warren Mundine call out Welcome to Country inclusions at Anzac Day services
Senior Liberal Party figures, including shadow defence minister Andrew Hastie and prominent Indigenous affairs advocate Warren Mundine, have called out the inclusion of Welcome to Country rituals at Anzac Day services, labelling them 'divisive'.
During Monday's final leaders' debate Opposition Leader Peter Dutton declared Welcome to Country rituals had become 'overdone' and committed to reducing their prevalence following booing of the ceremony at an Anzac Day dawn service in Melbourne.
The shadow minister for defence and former SASR troop commander Andrew Hastie reiterated that although Welcome to Country ceremonies serve as an integral component to key national events, they should not be incorporated into Anzac related services.
'Well, I think Welcome to Country is now part of what we do as a country, but I don't think it should be done on Anzac Day' he told Sky News Australia.
'Do I think it's appropriate that families of the fallen, veterans and regular Australians should be welcomed to their country on the very day they come together to remember those who've died for their country? No, I don't think it's appropriate'.
Mr Hastie served in Afghanistan as a former cavalry troop leader and in 2010 was selected to serve with the special air service regiment (SASR) as a troop commander. He also served again in Afghanistan, in 2013, with the Special Operations Task Group.
The shadow minister questioned why veterans should be 'welcomed to their country on that very day' and echoed Mr Dutton's declaration the ceremony had become 'overdone'.
'I think it also can be very divisive at times as well, because ultimately we're all Australians' Mr Hastie said.
'It doesn't matter if you're of Indigenous heritage, whether you're a seventh generation Australian, or you've taken citizenship in the last week, we're all Australians, we're equal before the law.'
Meanwhile, former national president of the ALP and advisor to three Liberal prime ministers, Warren Mundine, labelled the ongoing saga a 'bizarre situation' and emphasised Anzac Day is 'not about a day of talking about Welcome to Country'.
Speaking to Sky News Australia's Andrew Bolt, Mr Mundine condemned the yelling at the Melbourne dawn service and said he agreed 'with Dutton and Albanese in the sense that there shouldn't have been any booing' yet added there 'shouldn't have been a Welcome to Country as well'.
'It should have been that focus about what brings us together and what brings us together are those service people' he said.
When asked if Welcome to Country ceremonies should be scaled back at other major events Mr Mundine said the ritual was a 'nice idea', but stated that the practice had 'got to the stage where it's overdone'.
'I was Deputy Mayor and Mayor of Dubbo and I had citizenship programs and after the formal finishing of that, I said: 'Look, as an Aboriginal Australian, I welcome you to Australia, and I'm proud that you have chosen to become citizens of this country',' he said.
'You get it at board meetings, you get it at committee meetings. It is dividing us. Something that was nice and had a place has now turned into a thing of division, and also, it's been hijacked.'
During the leaders' debate on Sunday night, 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 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.
'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.'
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"It's rude to have someone waiting for such a long time," the Save our Songlines co-founder said outside the Federal Court in Sydney. The court determined Ms Cooper's case would be heard in the week of July 14. Senator Watt attached heritage and air quality conditions to the approval and those are yet to be formally agreed to by the Australian energy giant. Ms Cooper said the North West Shelf and other industrial developments at Woodside's Burrup Hub posed risks to the rock art - concerns and evidence laid out in full in a cultural heritage assessment the minister is yet to consider. The Burrup Peninsula, in WA's Pilbara region and known as Murujuga to traditional owners, contains some of the world's largest and oldest collection of petroglyphs. The "section 10" heritage application was originally lodged in early 2022. "I am furious that the minister would make a decision to lock in ongoing and irreversible damage to my country before addressing my application," Ms Cooper said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the conditions attached to the pending approval of the North West Shelf extension would address concerns about the rock art. "The local Aboriginal corporation there, I've met with them in the past, they're very supportive of industry," he told ABC radio on Friday. "They want to make sure there's protection, but they support those jobs and that economic activity." In a separate case, three protesters were fined $10,000 each after targeting a Woodside annual general meeting with stench gas and flares. Disrupt Burrup Hub's Gerard Mazza, Jesse Noakes and Tahlia Stolarski pleaded guilty to charges laid over their protest at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre in April 2023. "Today we were fined for attempting to create false belief — in other words, we pranked Woodside," Ms Stolarski told supporters outside Perth District Court after the verdict. "We are guilty of pulling off a highly successful hoax. 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"It's rude to have someone waiting for such a long time," the Save our Songlines co-founder said outside the Federal Court in Sydney. The court determined Ms Cooper's case would be heard in the week of July 14. Senator Watt attached heritage and air quality conditions to the approval and those are yet to be formally agreed to by the Australian energy giant. Ms Cooper said the North West Shelf and other industrial developments at Woodside's Burrup Hub posed risks to the rock art - concerns and evidence laid out in full in a cultural heritage assessment the minister is yet to consider. The Burrup Peninsula, in WA's Pilbara region and known as Murujuga to traditional owners, contains some of the world's largest and oldest collection of petroglyphs. The "section 10" heritage application was originally lodged in early 2022. "I am furious that the minister would make a decision to lock in ongoing and irreversible damage to my country before addressing my application," Ms Cooper said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the conditions attached to the pending approval of the North West Shelf extension would address concerns about the rock art. "The local Aboriginal corporation there, I've met with them in the past, they're very supportive of industry," he told ABC radio on Friday. "They want to make sure there's protection, but they support those jobs and that economic activity." In a separate case, three protesters were fined $10,000 each after targeting a Woodside annual general meeting with stench gas and flares. Disrupt Burrup Hub's Gerard Mazza, Jesse Noakes and Tahlia Stolarski pleaded guilty to charges laid over their protest at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre in April 2023. "Today we were fined for attempting to create false belief — in other words, we pranked Woodside," Ms Stolarski told supporters outside Perth District Court after the verdict. "We are guilty of pulling off a highly successful hoax. "One day, perhaps Woodside and the WA government will be pulled before a court like this one (and) be charged with much more serious crimes, and their victims will be future generations and all life on earth." A bid to compel the government to consider a heritage application to protect Indigenous rock art is going to court as three environmental activists declare they "successfully hoaxed" Woodside. The preliminary hearing follows Environment Minister Murray Watt's interim approval of Woodside's North West Shelf extension until 2070, a controversial gas project in Western Australia. The call has flared tensions, with environmental and Indigenous groups arguing it will slow efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions and have a ruinous effect on nearby ancient petroglyphs. Mardathoonera woman Raelene Cooper said she was thrilled the case against the newly appointed environment minister was moving forward without further delays. "It's rude to have someone waiting for such a long time," the Save our Songlines co-founder said outside the Federal Court in Sydney. The court determined Ms Cooper's case would be heard in the week of July 14. Senator Watt attached heritage and air quality conditions to the approval and those are yet to be formally agreed to by the Australian energy giant. Ms Cooper said the North West Shelf and other industrial developments at Woodside's Burrup Hub posed risks to the rock art - concerns and evidence laid out in full in a cultural heritage assessment the minister is yet to consider. The Burrup Peninsula, in WA's Pilbara region and known as Murujuga to traditional owners, contains some of the world's largest and oldest collection of petroglyphs. The "section 10" heritage application was originally lodged in early 2022. "I am furious that the minister would make a decision to lock in ongoing and irreversible damage to my country before addressing my application," Ms Cooper said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the conditions attached to the pending approval of the North West Shelf extension would address concerns about the rock art. "The local Aboriginal corporation there, I've met with them in the past, they're very supportive of industry," he told ABC radio on Friday. "They want to make sure there's protection, but they support those jobs and that economic activity." In a separate case, three protesters were fined $10,000 each after targeting a Woodside annual general meeting with stench gas and flares. Disrupt Burrup Hub's Gerard Mazza, Jesse Noakes and Tahlia Stolarski pleaded guilty to charges laid over their protest at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre in April 2023. "Today we were fined for attempting to create false belief — in other words, we pranked Woodside," Ms Stolarski told supporters outside Perth District Court after the verdict. "We are guilty of pulling off a highly successful hoax. "One day, perhaps Woodside and the WA government will be pulled before a court like this one (and) be charged with much more serious crimes, and their victims will be future generations and all life on earth."
