Sam Newman doubles down on anti-Welcome to Country views
Controversial AFL identity Sam Newman has defended his calls to boo the Welcome to Country as he launched another tirade on the now-traditional ceremony.
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Controversial football identity Sam Newman has defended his calls to boo the Welcome to Country as he launched another tirade on the now-traditional ceremony.
A week after he explosively called on AFL fans to boo the Welcome to Country at the weekend’s preliminary finals – which were only met with resounding applause – Newman doubled-down on his calls to cancel it altogether.
“Let’s address the elephant in the room,” he said on his podcast on Wednesday.
“I said last week that we should boo the Welcome to Country, it was an extravagant statement.
“(The Welcome to Country has) gone overboard and the social elites are only trying to plicate their own white prejudice by feeling virtuous that they keep going on and on with this.
“This is why I criticised the AFL, it’s just become a minefield of nonsense, they’ve got to pull it back.
“(It’s) not uniting us, that is my point. Standing on the MCG on grand final day and saying ‘you’re welcome to the country and we give you permission to play on the ground’, that’s not uniting us.
“That’s showing the world that we are a divided nation, that’s my point.”
It comes after the former VFL footballer was met with widespread condemnation and criticism, including from former premier Daniel Andrews and AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan, for calling on footy fans to boo over the weekend.
While the 77-year-old said he wouldn’t boo the ceremony at the ground this weekend, he still doesn’t agree with the staging of it.
“I wouldn’t boo at the grand final, but it was just a flippant throw away line, I disagree with the Welcome to Country at the grand final,” he added.
“My point is that every single thing you go to now, you go into a library, you go into anywhere at all, the whole thing starts with it.
“The whole thing makes you feel guilty for being here.
“When is it ever enough that we say ‘hang on a minute, this is enough, how much further do we want to keep going?”
Newman, who has made his stance clear on the upcoming Voice to Parliament, yet again told listeners which way he’ll be voting next month.
“Kevin Rudd, when he was the prime minister, he apologised for what’s gone on,” he added.
“Why wasn’t that enough?
“There’s 10-11 Indigenous politicians for two-and-a-half to three per cent of the Indigenous population.
“Why do we need the Voice if there’s 11 people representing your people, our people?”
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Originally published as Sam Newman doubles down on anti-Welcome to Country views
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