"Enough is enough": Pauline Hanson calls for ban on Welcome to Country
Pauline Hanson has called for a ban on Welcome to Country ceremonies at events, after an unusual version of the acknowledgement was performed at the AFL semi-final on Saturday.
Aboriginal Elder Brendan Kerin performed the unique Welcome at Sydney’s Engie Stadium on Saturday night, sparking widespread debate as Kerin tried to explain that the Welcome to Country ceremony is intended to welcome all visitors to the land they have gathered on, rather than welcoming people to Australia itself.
He also added other seemingly divisive aspects to his speech, stating the ceremony was not “invented to cater for white people” and Aboriginal people have been conducting the ceremony “for 250,000 years-plus”.
After the controversial Welcome, One Nation senator Pauline Hanson took to X to call the ceremonies “racially divisive” and declaring her belief Australians are “sick and tired of them”.
“As I have said in the past, these Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country performances are one of the most racially divisive features of modern discourse in Australia,” she began.
“Australians are sick and tired of them. They are sick of being told Australia is not their country, which is what these things effectively do. Welcomes and acknowledgements deny the citizenship and sovereignty held equally by all Australians and they need to stop."
Hanson concluded her post by stating: “Australians should not be forced to participate in or be subjected to these divisive performances. Enough is enough.”
While many of Hanson's followers were quick to agree with her comments, others said that they have often observed the Welcome to Country be respected and applauded, and said Elder Kerin's version of the acknowledgment was "informative" and "really respectful".
One person wrote, “This welcome to country will have annoyed all of the right people.”
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