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The Spinoff
28-04-2025
- Politics
- The Spinoff
Australia's Anzac Day Welcome to Country controversy is why I'm glad I don't live there
Disruption during a traditional Welcome to Country at Melbourne's Anzac Day dawn service has revealed the grim state of race relations across the ditch, writes Ātea editor Liam Rātana. It was 5.30am on Anzac Day. The sky was still dark, but 50,000 people had gathered at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne to honour those who served – including the estimated 5,000 Aboriginal soldiers who fought in the first and second world wars. Draped in a traditional possum fur cloak, Bunurong elder Mark Brown stood in front of the podium to welcome the crowd to the land of his ancestors. As he began speaking, a small group of hecklers attempted to interrupt Brown with boos and negative comments. 'What about the Anzacs?' one of them shouted. 'Don't welcome me to my own country.' Despite the attempted interference, a defiant Brown continued with his welcome, being met with applause from others in the crowd. That evening, local NRL team Melbourne Storm was set to play in a highly anticipated match in front of 26,000 fans at a sold-out AAMI Park. To start proceedings, Wurundjeri elder Joy Murphy Wandin had been invited to provide a Welcome to Country to start the Anzac Day ceremony. However, following the morning's events and subsequent controversy, Murphy Wandin was told she would no longer be required as the Welcome to Country was cancelled. 'The board doesn't feel comfortable having a Welcome to Country because of what happened in regards to the booing of Uncle Mark Brown at the Anzac Dawn Service,' is what the Djirri Djirri dancers, who were meant to perform following the Welcome to Country, allege they were told. Murphy Wandin said the Storm then reversed its decision before its chief executive Justin Rodski allegedly cancelled it again. This was despite Murphy Wandin already being at the stadium and having completed her final rehearsal. Subsequent reporting has revealed that Storm director Brett Ralph is a significant donor to right-wing lobby group Advance, which is actively campaigning to end the practice of Welcomes to Country around Australia. The Storm have since released a statement claiming the cancellation was due to a 'miscommunication of expectations regarding the use of Welcome to Country at Melbourne Storm events' between the club's board and management. It is alleged the board were unaware that a Welcome to Country was to be performed at Friday's game. The Welcome to Country is not a new practice. As Aboriginal Australian education leader Jessa Rogers recently wrote, 'Welcome to Country is a sovereign Aboriginal protocol, grounded in the laws, customs and practices of First Nations that have existed on this continent for tens of thousands of years'. A Welcome to Country is conducted by an elder, a formally recognised traditional owner, or a custodian, to greet visitors to their ancestral land. The ceremony can vary in form, often featuring a speech, traditional dance and a smoking ceremony. The practice saw a modern renaissance in the late 1970s, following a Welcome to Country performed by Yamtji men Ernie Dingo and Richard Walley, for a group of Aotearoa Māori and Cook Islands Māori attending the Perth Fringe Festival. It is widely believed to be one of the first recorded welcomes for a group of people not indigenous to Australia. In 2008, the official opening of Australia's federal parliament began with a Welcome to Country for the first time. It has since become a standard feature. The day after, then prime minister Kevin Rudd gave a formal apology to indigenous Australians for the atrocities committed against them. However, following the Anzac Day controversy over the weekend, the use of Welcomes to Country was thrust into the spotlight, highlighting deeper issues around race relations in Australia. On Sunday evening, during the final leaders' debate prior to the Australian election, opposition leader Peter Dutton claimed Welcome to Country ceremonies were 'overdone' and said their regular use 'cheapens the significance'. It was a cheap way for Dutton to score brownie points with the (probably small) sector of Australians that agree with him, much like the politicians here in Aotearoa who pander to a similarly small, yet vocal crowd. The kerfuffle with the Welcomes to Country in Melbourne on Anzac Day made me sad. Sad for our indigenous brothers and sisters in Te Whenua Momoeā. Sad that they are still being met with such overt racism while practicing their cultural traditions, literally welcoming people to the whenua where they have lived for at least 65,000 years. Sad for my cousins, nieces and nephews who call Australia home. Sad that they are growing up and living in a land where some people still have such visibly little tolerance and respect for indigenous cultures. While I am fully aware that racism is alive and well here in Aotearoa, I like to (perhaps ignorantly) believe that our race-relations are better than that of the country across the ditch. We don't have people attempting to stop others from singing the national anthem in te reo Māori, or running on the field to stop the All Blacks doing a haka. However, we do have several recent instances of intolerance for indigenous practices and beliefs here in Aotearoa. One such case is that of Kaipara District mayor Craig Jepson, praised by many of his constituents for banning karakia before council meetings. I also vividly recall a group of Pākehā verbally expressing their dismay at a karanga being performed for Lani Daniels' entrance to her world heavyweight boxing title fight in 2023. 'Just get on with the fight,' one of them said as she tsked and rolled her eyes. Although I believe we are slightly more tolerant of, and educated on, the importance of Māori cultural customs in Aotearoa, I also think the select group of our population that is against the growing normalisation of these practices is becoming more galvanised in their beliefs. With that comes a growing inclination and comfort in publicly and explicitly expressing those views – not just on social media, but in real life too. My only hope is that we are quick to call out this harmful behaviour and continue to foster an acceptance of all cultures among our youth – especially of the indigenous culture of this land. One of the most important things to remember from this whole fiasco is children don't invent racism, they learn it.
ABC News
28-04-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Aboriginal elder says Melbourne Storm told her Welcome to Country on Anzac Day would be 'inappropriate'
Victorian Aboriginal elder Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin says she was told by Melbourne Storm's CEO that performing a Welcome to Country at Friday's Anzac Day NRL match would be "inappropriate". The Wurundjeri elder said she was still yet to hear from the club about the hurt caused after the welcoming ceremony was Earlier that day, Bunurong and Gunditjmara elder Mark Brown was Melbourne Storm said in a statement on Saturday that the cancellation was due to a "misunderstanding" which had "caused confusion with the pre-game cultural ceremony". "The Board asked for clarification about the sequencing of the Anzac Day ceremony, and we were not aware that a Welcome to Country was to be performed," Melbourne Storm chairman Matt Tripp said in a statement. "I know there were some disappointed groups and individuals involved and we apologise for the misunderstanding and will be meeting with them to clear this up." Nobody from Melbourne Storm has been available for interview since the ceremony was cancelled. Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin says the cancellation of the Welcome to Country ceremeony left her "heartbroken". ( AAP: James Ross ) Ms Murphy Wandin said she was driving to AAMI Park ahead of the service on Friday when Melbourne Storm CEO Justin Rodski phoned her to say the ceremony would not go ahead. "When I got in he said it was about the booing that happened and something like protecting or looking after you," she told ABC News Breakfast. " I don't need protecting … I don't understand it. " Ms Murphy Wandin, whose father was a World War I veteran, said she was also told that performing the ceremony on Anzac Day would be "inappropriate". Photo shows Uncle Mark Brown The outright hostility at Melbourne's Anzac Day service mirrors the long, quiet and painful exclusion of Black diggers from the national conversation. She said she was left "heartbroken" and "in shock" over the cancellation and would take time to think about any future co-operation with the club. "I don't honestly know if I can do another Welcome there," she said. "When we meet with the board — which we must do and they must do — we must follow this through, we need the truth. "We need to know that we're safe there, that they're genuine about what their plans are." Indigenous and Maori players upset by incident Wurundjeri woman and Djirri Djirri dancer Ky-Ya Nicholson was due to perform at the game before the Welcome to Country was cancelled. "The CEO walked up to us and said 'we love what you are doing but unfortunately the board decided that we do not want the Welcome to Country tonight because of the events that happened earlier today'," she said. Ms Nicholson said she and fellow dancers decided to boycott the event after seeing Ms Murphy Wandin visibly upset. " Our instant response was shock and disbelief and amongst ourselves instantly we decided, no, we're boycotting. This is disrespectful. " The ABC understands several Indigenous and Maori NRL players are also deeply upset by the incident. Tyson Tuala was due to take part in the event on behalf of Maori community as part of the Nga Matai Parua dance group, but also decided to boycott. Tyson Tuala was due to represent the Maori community at the game but decided to boycott the event. ( ABC News Breakfast ) "To have that taken away from us and from the young people that were in our group as well, an opportunity to honour those who have fallen on both sides of the [Tasman] Sea, that was a massive disappointment," he said.
ABC News
25-04-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Elder Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin heartbroken after Welcome to Country called off for Storm and Rabbitohs match
A senior Aboriginal elder has said she is heartbroken and distressed after Melbourne Storm informed her a planned Welcome to Country at its Anzac Day match would be cancelled at the last minute. Wurundjeri elder Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin said she was informed on Friday afternoon by the club that the address to the crowd at AAMI Park would be called off. The team was up against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Melbourne. Ms Murphy Wandin said the decision was particularly "hurtful" because her father was a veteran and she had planned to wear his medals during the Welcome to Country. The ABC understands Storm chief executive Justin Rodski told Ms Murphy Wandin that her address could not go ahead. Photo shows Uncle Mark Brown The outright hostility at Melbourne's Anzac Day service mirrors the long, quiet and painful exclusion of Black diggers from the national conversation. At Melbourne's Anzac Day dawn service, several people interrupted a Welcome to Country delivered by Uncle Mark Brown, a Bunurong and Gunditjmara elder. It is not clear why Melbourne Storm did not proceed with the address. A Melbourne Storm spokesman told ABC News it had "spoken to the groups concerned" about a "miscommunication". "There was a miscommunication of expectations regarding the use of Welcome to Country at Melbourne Storm events throughout the year," he said. "We acknowledge and accept the timing and miscommunication was not ideal and we have spoken to the groups concerned this afternoon." Storm coach Craig Bellamy told reporters after the game he "didn't know anything about that". "That's the first I've heard of that," he said. Ms Murphy Wandin during a separate Welcome to Country in 2021. ( ABC News ) Ms Murphy Wandin said after an initial meeting, the club then rescinded its decision and asked her to perform the Welcome to Country, but she declined. She was due to walk out onto the field alongside Aboriginal women from the Djirri Djirri dance group, made up of Wurundjeri custodians of the Kulin Nations. The dancers were asked to proceed without Ms Murphy Wandin's Welcome to Country but declined. One of the dancers, Kathleen Terrick, has told ABC News that the group were shocked and hurt by the decision and decided to cancel their performance. "When it comes to our elders, we are not going to stand by and let our elders be disrespected," she said. Ms Terrick said the group was told the decision was made "due to the wishes of the board". Multiple people were left in tears, she said. " All the work we've done to build a respectful relationship, that's now been shattered. "
