Brendan Kerin doubles down, relishes Welcome to Country critics

The man behind this week’s divisive and viral Welcome to Country has broken his silence and delivered a fierce spray.

Aboriginal elder Brendan Kerin has broken his silence after his divisive Welcome to Country at an AFL semi-final went viral this week.

While the ceremony at sporting events often follows a fairly common script, Kerin’s unique take erupted in controversy, with a number of Australia’s more outspoken figures criticising Kerin and the tradition in general.

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Lines such as the ceremony was not “invented to cater for white people” and Aboriginal people have been conducting them “for 250,000 years-plus” were jumped on by some.

Kerin’s declaration that his time frame was “BC and the BC stands for Before Cook” also came underfire in some sections of society.

A cultural educator from the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council in Sydney, Kerin finally commented on all the controversy in a chat with NITV on Friday.

Brendan Kerin commenting on the controversy.

It seems he has relished witnessing the types that have spoken out this week.

“With all the feedback, I think we can sit back and just look at the absolute stupidity and the ignorance of what people are saying,” Kerin said.

“Seeing people like Andrew Bolt, Pauline Hanson, Jacinta Price (and) Warren Mundine (commenting) confirms that I’m on the right path.”

On Monday, polarising One Nation senator Hanson penned a long post on X to her 135,000 followers calling the ceremonies “racially divisive” and declaring her belief Australians are “sick and tired of them”.

Pauline Hanson has been a regular critic of the ceremonies. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Lloyd Walker giving the Welcome to Country at the SCG on Friday night.

“As I have said in the past, these Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country performances are one of the most racially divisive features of modern discourse in Australia,” the 70-year-old began.

“Australians are sick and tired of them.

“They are sick of being told Australia is not their country, which is what these things effectively do.

“Welcomes and acknowledgements deny the citizenship and sovereignty held equally by all Australians and they need to stop.”

The Swans line up for the Welcome to Country and national anthem on Friday night. (Photo by Matt King/AFL Photos/Getty Images)

Bolt called the ceremony “the most unwelcoming welcome I’ve ever heard” on Sky News, while Mundine offered his opinion the tradition “has been done to death and is starting to lose its shine”.

The ceremonies have continued this week, with one conducted prior to Australia’s women’s T20 victory over New Zealand on Thursday night and before Friday’s AFL preliminary final between the Swans and Power, both without controversy.

Kerin added he had no regrets about his speech, apart from one aspect.

‘If I was going to do it again I would go a little bit longer,” he said. “But I wouldn’t have changed a word.”

Originally published as Brendan Kerin doubles down, relishes Welcome to Country critics