“It’s just what’s done”: The misunderstanding around ‘Welcome to Country’

Welcoming & acknowledging the country has become a prominent part of Australian public life, but after boos rang around Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance debates have intensified about reconciliation.

(Credit: Adobe Stock - Education License)

When Bunurong man Uncle Mark Brown stood at the lectern outside Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance, in the early hours of the ANZAC Day Dawn service, he was met with the boos, jeers and heckles of a small number of Neo-Nazi’s sprinkled across the 50,000 strong crowd.

Though drowned out by cheers of the crowd and eventually escorted off by police, the actions of these people demonstrates that there continues to be misunderstanding and dismay over reconciliation practices such as the 'Welcome to Country' and acknowledging traditional owners.

Whilst a concerning sign of the growing radical right presence in Australia’s major cities, the boos that occurred on ANZAC Day are reflective of the ongoing debate surrounding reconciliation. For some, it is an acknowledgement that Australian history goes well past colonisation, and First Nations people have cared for this land for millennia. 

For others, Welcome to Country is seen as divisive; the common phrase ‘Why should I be welcomed to my own country?’ is often thrown around.

But many who have a close connection to First Nations traditions say the debate could be settled with better understanding. 

Rhett Bowden, school principal in the Tiwi Islands, on Mantiyupwi country, has been working with and educating Indigenous communities for years. As a white Australian, he is frustrated by the miseducation of 'Welcome to Country' in mainland Australia.

"They say, ‘Why should I be welcome to my own country?' But they don't understand that within Australia, there's all these different Aboriginal countries."

When residing in the Tiwi Islands, Bowden and his family stay on Mantiyupwi land, and he explained that when traditional owners of neighbouring land groups come to visit Mantiyupwi country, a Welcome to Country is performed.

Mantiyupwi land where Bowden resides, (Credit: Dash Spencer-White)

The Tiwi Islands is split into 8 traditional landowner clans, split across the two main islands, Melville (right) and Bathurst (left).

Exposure to the regularity of these practices would cause a more positive action, Rhett argues.

"It's like Catholics say a prayer before a meeting... it's exactly the same. It's just what's been done, and you just do it; there's no thought about it."

Rhett is passionate about the Tiwi Islands, and has a deep respect for the effort to maintain the lands culture and history.

"It's just a given, because they've never left that land. It's always been their land. You don't have to try, because it's just a part of what the place is. And that's the fortunate thing for the Tiwis. It's one of their great strengths and gifts."

Acknowledgements and Welcome to Country have become frequently used by businesses and organisations, normally part of a Reconciliation Action Plan.

Reconciliation Action Plans (RAP) are set out by respective businesses in order to take meaningful action towards reconciliation.

According to Reconciliation Australia, almost five and a half million people now work or study in an organisation with a RAP. Additionally, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in leadership positions in RAP organisations increased to 574. 

However, when it comes to Welcome to Country, not all Indigenous leaders feel RAP is fulfilling its purpose as hoped. For some, the overuse of Welcome to Country has diminished the sacred nature of it, and thus is often seen as unnecessary and virtue signalling.

Gheran-Yarramn Steel is a Boonwurrung-Wemba Wemba man, currently leading RMIT's execution of 'Responsible Practice'. Shaped by the community work of his mother, Steel is passionate about the traditional practices of Welcome to Country.

"The traditional practices would've been between different Indigenous clans when they've come on to someone else's country...in Kulin area we call it Tanderrum. It's sort of a passage of providing safety and protection"

"When I look at a Welcome to Country, that's what I think it should be like: Why are you here? And here's the blessing for being here and doing what you're doing."

Despite this, Steel believes that overusing the practice diminishes the meaning and reasoning of Welcome to Country, for all Australians.

"Probably one percent of Welcomes actually fit that descriptor. I think in a lot of ways it's very superficial."

Working within RMIT's RAP, Steel is well aware that RAPs can be "tokenistic" in how they cover acknowledging country. 

"I think RAPs can be very good, and at the same time they can be virtue signalling. It's like veiled engagement. It's like, 'here we're doing this thing, and then it's done, and we move on to the rest of our day...and we get social credit points.'"

Steel's mother was on the First Peoples Assembly of Victoria and has provided a lot of advice to the government through her work. She also provides Welcome to Country occasionally for events and organisations.

Steel stated that playing a role as providing Welcome to Country's for organisations has taken a toll on his mother's passion for it.

"At the end of the day, you go, 'Who am I doing this for? So I feel like it's a really important practice, and then to just do that for anyone... it feels like a bit of a compromise on your values."

Much of his mothers work has shaped his enthusiasm for traditional practices and his worry about the reputation of Welcome to Country. Steel is concerned that white Australia has a misguided view of the meaning behind 'Welcome to Country' for First Nations people, and that was reflected in Brendan Kerin's speech.

"I think there's this sort of unreconciled issue of Indigenous people having the very real feeling that they've been colonised — and there hasn't been reconciliation — and at the same time they're doing Welcome to Country's."

"How do you reconcile that? How do you go? You know, we're being colonised, but I'm going to be a part of the Commonwealth Government...it's a difficult position that I love thinking about."

As the debate over 'Welcome to Country' continues, the question remains: how can Australia honour Indigenous traditions without tarnishing them? For voices like Steel's, it’s a question that must be answered with both respect for culture and a commitment to true reconciliation.

Freshly re-elected Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese seemingly made a point by acknowledging the land he made his victory speech on, on Saturday. It was met by the cheers of his fans who assumably side with his belief that Neo-nazis who boo such practices “must face the full force of the law."

As part of his campaign against "woke-ism", Peter Dutton claimed that it was “overdone” and that it was “the majority view” that Australian war veterans do not want Welcome to Country on ANZAC Day.

But as culture wars surrounding reconciliation-based ceremonies influenced the election campaign, it will be interesting  to see whether a new Opposition Leader will maintain bi-partisan support for Welcome to Country acknowledgements.