Welcome to Country reports stir up fierce social media backlash
An NRL powerhouse’s massive call surrounding the Welcome to Country ceremony has sparked a storm on social media.
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A social media storm has erupted after it emerged the Melbourne Storm will cut back on its use of pre-game Welcome to Country ceremonies in coming seasons.
The club has since moved to explain the motives behind the decision, but the response has not stopped the frenzied reactions from fans across the NRL.
The club said in a statement on Monday it will use different means to acknowledge the culturally significant act. The ceremony is designed to show respect and acknowledgement for the local Wurundjeri people.
“Melbourne Storm is not ‘ditching’ its Welcome to Country or acknowledgments as suggested by recent media. We will continue these acknowledgments at culturally significant celebrations,” the statement said.
“The strength and success of our club is built on many cultures and communities, and our engagement with them has helped us to reflect the differing views on how we best support and represent each group.
“We will continue to talk to these communities and seek their input to find the most appropriate and respectful way to acknowledge and celebrate culture, including how we best acknowledge First Nations people.
“The club will continue to support First Nations community groups and organisations, as it has done for many years, delivering programs and initiatives that promote positive health, welfare and education outcomes.”
The Welcome to Country became a hotbed of discussion throughout 2024 with fans of both the AFL and NRL debating if it was still required at every game.
It appears many are on board with the notion of the ceremony being scrapped in its entirety from pre-game schedules, at least according to scores of fans on social media.
One fan took to news.com.au sport’s Facebook page to write in response to news of the Storm cutting back on the ceremonies: “Finally. Common sense. Well done Melbourne.”
Another wrote: “Yes, let’s just get on with the game. We don’t need 15 minutes of hoopla beforehand,” while a third added: “Let’s hope everyone follows through and drops this.”
One news.com.au commenter wrote: “If you want to do it for the Grand Final only or a special round, then use it. We don’t need to open every game with it..”
A fourth added: “Kudos to the Storm. The AFL, NRL, CA etc., should show some spine and get rid of this wokeness from our sports. Politics should not be mixed with sport.”
Not everyone, however, was happy with reports the Storm would be scrapping the ceremony with Indigenous rapper Briggs taking aim at the club.
“See, the cost of living means cultural recognition is just not viable in this economy. There’s a price for cultural inclusion. Storm could do it if they wanted; if anyone knows how to work a salary cap - it’s them,” he wrote on X.
It was first reported that the club had privately decided to scrap many of its ceremonies at the weekend, with the club telling the Herald Sun: “We’re really keen to let our actions (rather than words) reflect what we stand for as a club in the community”.
Code Sports reported Storm management would “undertake a cultural planning review for 2025 to determine how often Welcome to Country, where an elder performs the on-field custom, will be used”.
The online uproar comes a week after the Juru People of North Queensland voted to ban Welcome to Country ceremonies on their ancestral land because they find the ceremony embarrassing.
Locals have also raised concerns about how the tradition has been commercialised.
“The elders have had enough,” spokesman Randall Ross said on 4BC Mornings with Bill McDonald.
“It is being abused and they want to put a stop to it.”
While the elders remain committed to protecting their land, Mr Ross explained that the Welcome to Country process had become a business that many were uncomfortable with due to money being made by those who were not connected to the land in any meaningful way.
Burdekin Mayor Pierina Dalle Cort also welcomed the decision.
“I can’t get into a political nightmare here but all I can say is I’m happy to work with the traditional owners,” she said via the Newscorp masthead.
“We had the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ vote (Voice referendum) and that vote should have been listened to at that time as well. We’re multicultural, we’re one country and we’ve all got to learn to live and work together.
“It’ll probably be an early Christmas present to a lot of people. I’ve already had some responses from people saying things like finally common sense has prevailed, basically.”
Indigenous leader and vocal commentator Warren Mundine also applauded the Jurus’ decision, saying Welcome to Country ceremonies had already become “a cliche” that have lost their meaning.
Mr Mundine previously called the Welcome to Country a “beautiful idea” but claimed it had started to turn into a “very divisive political push”.
Those comments came after AFL semi-final at ENGIE Stadium in Sydney which saw the GWS Giants loss to eventual premiers the Brisbane Lions.
Before the match, cultural educator from the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council Brendan Kerin sparked a storm for his comments.
“A Welcome to Country is not a welcome to Australia. Within Australia we have many Aboriginal lands and we refer to our lands as ‘country’,” Kerin said.
“So it’s always a welcome to the lands you’ve gathered on.
“A Welcome to Country is not a ceremony we’ve invented to cater for white people.
“It’s a ceremony we’ve been doing for 250,000 years-plus BC. And the BC stands for Before Cook.”
Amid the backlash One Nation leader Pauline Hanson called for an end to Welcome to Country, claiming it was “one of the most racially divisive features of modern discourse in Australia”.
Collingwood great Tony Shaw also blasted Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley copping a $20,000 fine after a cheeky stoush with Hawthorn players.
Shaw wrote on X: “What a weak politically correct organisation the AFL is.
“$20k fine for verbal taunts same as actual physical contact. The political decisiveness (divisiveness) of welcome to country last night was embarrassing but any public rebuke?”
Channel 9 Footy Show host Tony Jones also called out the AFL over the Welcome to Country telling 3AW: “If this is all designed to sort of unify Australia, I think it’s creating division when we see or hear welcomes like that.”
Similarly, two-time AFL premiership winner Matthew Stokes penned a column in The Age, writing: “Welcome to Country should be a beautiful, respectful ceremony that unites us as we reflect on Australia’s extraordinary history which stretches long before white settlement.
“Instead, it’s becoming divisive and, to be honest, I can understand why many people are confused by its purpose, as the AFL finals coverage broadcasts the ceremonies to millions of football fans.”
While the Storm won’t have regular Welcome to Country ceremonies, the club has recently announced a new community strategy with First Nations, Pasifika and All Abilities communities a priority.
The Storm will also host an annual Men’s Gathering at AAMI Park for Aboriginal men across Australia.
The club will also have a full-time resource in its office for a School to Work program in order to help First Nations students to transition from education to employment.
Originally published as Welcome to Country reports stir up fierce social media backlash
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