Kangaroo Island Council adopts revised Acknowledgement of Country which is read annually

An outspoken regional mayor has labelled the Acknowledgment of Country as “tokenistic” and being “rammed down the throats” of South Australians.

Kangaroo Island Council recently tweaked its Acknowledgment of Country, which is now only read out once a year. Picture: Brad Fleet

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The Acknowledgment of Country is “entirely tokenistic” and is being “rammed down the throats” of South Australians, according to an outspoken regional mayor.

Kangaroo Island Council tweaked its Acknowledgement of Country for its council meetings in October last year, adopting a new statement, which it says, recognises “all those who settled on Kangaroo Island over the millennia”.

The revised declaration is read once a year and now states: “That Council acknowledge and recognises spiritual significance of our Island to Indigenous Australians and all peoples who have come before us to settle on our Island. Whose toil and efforts down through the years have made it our Island home that it is today.”

The move comes after Mayor Michael Pengilly refused to read the former Acknowledgement of Country at the start of a council meeting in 2023.

It also comes as a new survey reveals a majority of Australians believe that Welcome to Country ceremonies have become divisive.

Mr Pengilly told The Advertiser the new wording was inclusive to all members of the community, whether they were “black, white, yellow, whatever colour.”

“It is entirely tokenistic and it means nothing, it just pees people off as much as anything,” he said.

“You get it rammed down your throats all the time, and what it does is create an atmosphere where people think they are going to get threatened if they don’t do it.

“It should not be read out everywhere, before football, people get sick of it.”

Mr Pengilly argued that the Welcome to Country was now being overused. Picture: Michael Klein

He agreed with some controversial commentators that it should not be read at Dawn Services on Anzac Day.

His comments come after other metro and regional councils scrapped the acknowledgment altogether.

Playford, Northern Areas and Naracoorte Lucindale councils all removed the statement in 2023, with some fearing the practice at every meeting was “going overboard”.

Lucindale Naracoorte Mayor Patrick Ross said the decision was made in a bid to make all members of the community feel welcome.

Originally published as Kangaroo Island Council adopts revised Acknowledgement of Country which is read annually