Reality TV star unleashes on Jetstar over ‘Welcome to Country’ acknowledgment on board plane

An Australian reality TV personality has taken aim at budget airline Jetstar following a recent flight from Sydney to Ballina.

An Australian reality TV personality has hit out at budget airline Jetstar, following a flight from Sydney to Ballina.

Dean Wells, who first appeared on Aussie TV screens on the 2018 season of reality series Married At First Sight, said while the flight was seamless — the airline “could’ve done without the ‘Welcome to Country’” upon arrival in Ballina.

But the airline says there was no Welcome to Country read out, instead it was an acknowledgement message that has been performed inflight for several years.

Taking to his social media account with 80k followers, Mr Wells added that he doesn’t need to be “welcomed” to his own country.

Speaking to Sky News Australia, Mr Wells defended his posts about the airline’s message during the domestic flight on Tuesday.

“Each part of Australia was originally controlled by different Aboriginal tribes, it likely involved conflicts or battles over land,” he told the publication.

“Yet, Europeans are made to feel guilty because our ancestors came here and set up a new modern society and similarly it involved some unsavoury and violent situations.

“That was a different time and that’s how the world worked back then.”

Australian reality TV personality Dean Wells took aim at budget airline Jetstar.

Mr Wells had an issue with the airline’s Acknowledgement of Country message.

Mr Wells said while he “deeply respects Aboriginal culture and want it preserved”, the “positive contributions Europeans have brought, like the airplanes that Jetstar operates shouldn’t be ignored.”

“As a white man born here, these ‘ceremonies’ can feel unwelcoming,” he said.

“Australia has developed a unique culture, and we should celebrate the safe, prosperous and unique nation all its people have built. Being Australian is not about skin colour or race, it’s much more than that and it is to be cherished and appreciated.

“I’m proud and grateful to be lucky enough to have been born an Australian and I wish more people felt the same way and would fight to protect and preserve the amazing lifestyle and culture we have in this great country.”

Jetstar along with parent airline Qantas first launched First Nations Acknowledgement of Country messages on flights in 2021.

The former MAFS reality star said these ‘ceremonies’ can feel unwelcoming

Reality TV star Dean Wells, centre, has taken aim at Jetstar over the airline’s Acknowledgement of Country message on board a domestic flight.

A Welcome to Country is a ceremony performed by a local Aboriginal person of significance (usually an Elder) to acknowledge and give consent to events taking place on their traditional lands, according to the University of NSW.

When a traditional owner is unavailable, an Acknowledgement of Country can instead be performed.

Mr Wells’ complaint comes days after an Australian woman questioned why she needs to take part in a Welcome to Country ceremony before her pilates classes.

Loren Barry, a Producer at Triple M radio in Melbourne, said she did not understand why her gym sessions began with the ceremony.

Jetstar and Qantas have had an Acknowledgment, not a Welcome to Country, performed in-flight for several years.

Barry made it clear that she was a supporter of Welcome to Country but questioned the frequency of the ceremony.

“I’m all for the Welcome to Country,” Barry started.

“But I think that, when you’ve got the same people in the classes every day, you’ve been welcomed.”

Ben Fordham, host at 2GB, shared the same sentiment.

“I’m convinced that in a few years from now organisations will be dropping this tradition because they’ve flogged it so hard that it’s lost all meaning,” he said.

“Now, if it’s the first day of parliament of the year, do the Welcome … if you’ve got a special gathering happening, sure, go right ahead, do the Welcome.

“But we don’t need every speech to have one, we don’t need a Welcome at the start of a zoom meeting, and having the welcome to country at the start of a pilates class? Well, that’s just bizarre.”