Latest news with #WurundjeriPeople
Herald Sun
10-05-2025
- Health
- Herald Sun
NRL news: Melbourne Storm pay heavy price for Welcome snub as NRL club dropped by major partner
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News. The Melbourne Storm have paid a huge price for their last-minute axing of the Welcome to Country ceremony at their NRL Anzac Day fixture, with major partner Victorian Aboriginal Health Services (VAHS) cutting ties with the NRL club. The decision comes after the traditional Welcome to Country was not performed on Anzac Day. In response VAHS announced they would no longer partner with Melbourne due to the club's 'lack of respect and cultural sensitivity'. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE in 4K with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. The partnership included the Deadly Choices program, an initiative with the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health. While also as a result of the breakdown, VAHS will no longer be a Community outlet for tickets to NRL Indigenous Round, Storm home games, and will immediately stop organising local Koori children to play during halftime exhibition games. 'The Victorian Aboriginal Health Service has made the difficult decision to withdraw our partnership on the Deadly Choices campaign with Melbourne Storm, effective immediately,' VAHS' statement on Thursday 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. 'Such an action is inconsistent with our values of respect, cultural integrity and cultural safety. The decision has initiated poor wellbeing, including feelings of sadness and anger among our Community and 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' decision comes after Storm chairman Matt Tripp told The Age the club's handling of the Welcome to Country situation had 'upset him greatly' as he declared the whole thing was simply a miscommunication. 'Once we understood the programming from management, we gave the green light to progress. By then, it was understandably too late for those who had already been informed of our earlier decision,' Tripp said, citing a lack of clarity between the board and management for the confusion. He explained: 'It (the incident) has disappointed me beyond words. 'I am acutely aware of the many different cultures and races we have involved in our football club and our supporter base. 'Like I do with anything within the club, I guard that with my life and I want to protect that at all costs. 'To have a miscommunication deem us as non-sensitive to Welcome to Country and beyond that, a part of Australian customs, that has upset me greatly.' Originally published as Melbourne Storm pay heavy price for Welcome to Country snub as major partner drops NRL club
Sky News AU
09-05-2025
- Health
- Sky News AU
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.'
