‘Going down the wrong path’: Welcome to Country at Little Athletics slammed
A man has maligned a Welcome to Country ceremony before his son’s sport training, questioning whether Australia is “going down the wrong path”.
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A Sydney man has maligned the performance of a Welcome to Country before his son’s Little Athletics training session, questioning whether Australia is “going down the wrong path”.
Phoning in to 2GB’s Ben Fordham on Thursday morning, the caller, identified only as James, said that upon arrival at Inner West Little Athletics earlier this week, coaches “rounded up” the five- to 10-year-old kids and “started off” with the traditional Indigenous ceremony.
“And I think we spent two-and-a-half minutes on this at the start of the session, and some of the parents kind of looked at each other and the kids were looking at each other, and the coaches kept going on with it,” James explained.
“And I’m thinking, What’re we doing? Do we do this around the world? Welcome to Country – these kids probably don’t even understand what the whole story about Indigenous culture is.”
Asked by Fordham whether the coaches were Indigenous themselves, James claimed they were not.
“Who were they welcoming, and why?” Fordham asked.
News.com.au has contacted Inner West Little Athletics for comment.
James, who previously lived in the Northern Territory “in the Indigenous communities for four years”, said that he understands and respects “the culture, and I love Indigenous people”.
“But to do it every session now – I’m thinking, ‘are we going down the wrong path here?” he said.
“It’s just a bit too much.”
Fordham mentioned that a pilates class recently attended by a friend in Melbourne also commenced with an Acknowledgement of Country.
Unlike a Welcome to Country, Acknowledgement of Country statement is often made to respect Traditional Custodians and can be delivered by a non-Indigenous person.
“I suppose we shouldn’t be shocked that they’re doing it before a training session for mini athletics,” he added.
“It doesn’t make sense. It makes no sense whatsoever. All it does is divide people based on race – that’s all it does. And that’s why, overwhelmingly, people are turning away from these things.”
“Even when people talk about what country we’re standing on today, I’ve got to be honest with you, I think that divides us as well,” Fordham continued.
“I think we’re better off just saying look, we’re here in Australia, we’re all Australians - full stop - and that’s all you need to worry about.
“And yes we celebrate our rich Indigenous history, and we talk about the migrants who’ve come to Australia to call this country home, and we talk about all of the sacrifices people have made in building this country including those who’ve served in the Australian Defence Force.
“So we can highlight all those things, but when kids are going to mini athletics to a training session and the non-Indigenous coaches kick off with an acknowledgment or welcome, you can understand why the kids and the parents are scratching their heads.”
Commonwealth government departments were accused in January of fuelling a “multimillion-dollar industry” for Welcome to Country ceremonies after taxpayers were slugged with a $450,000 bill for the protocols.
Documents obtained from the Opposition under Freedom of Information (FOI) requests revealed 300 Welcome to Country ceremonies had been performed across 21 government departments over the 2022-23 and 2023-24 financial years, totalling $452,953.
Cost breakdowns revealed on average $1266 was spent per ceremony, with some of the highest-spending departments the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet ($41,801), the Australian Institute of Sport ($47,003), the National Indigenous Australians Agency ($60,342).
Although Opposition government waste spokesman James Stevens said there was “a place” for the ceremonies, he said the events had become a “multimillion-dollar industry,” given the “enormous amounts” spent by state and local governments.
“Welcomes to Country should be genuine and authentic, not a lucrative income stream at the taxpayers’ expense,” he said.
“Spending millions on ‘welcome’ ceremonies does nothing to address the challenges facing Indigenous Australians.
“This money could be better spent on delivering real solutions to Indigenous communities.”
Indigenous Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said last week the Coalition will look to halt federal funding for the ceremonies if the party wins the upcoming federal election.
“Going forward, what has come out of the result of the (Voice) referendum, is that Australians want to see taxpayer dollars work more effectively for them,” Senator Price, a Warlpiri/Celtic woman, told ABC News on Friday.
“Right across the board, (but) certainly for marginalised Indigenous Australians.
“Australians want to cut the waste, they want to make sure that outcomes are coming to life with the way in which taxpayer dollars are being spent by their government.”
– with NCA NewsWire
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