The Welcome to Country speech that aired before the AFL 2024 Brownlow Medal awards began has caused a rift between footy fans online. The pre-recorded speech, which opened the awards ceremony on Monday night, was delivered by Wurundjeri man Uncle Colin Hunter Junior. The elder, who also performed at last year's Brownlow Medal awards, appeared on the live screen before taking to the stage and welcoming the audience to the event.
While some thought the speech was a welcome gesture, it quickly stirred up others, who vented their frustration online. "Do we need a welcome to country at every single event? This is being overdone," one user said. "Welcome to country at the Brownlows now F****** SPARE US," another wrote.
"Oh not that welcome ceremony again, it just pops up everywhere these days, please stop it. It's losing its meaning," said a third. Other users took a stand for the ceremony's relevance.
"Typical whinging racist flogs complaining about Welcome to Country. Get a bloody life," one user said. "Oh no, they just did a Welcome to Country at the Brownlow.
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..prepare for all the racists not needing to “bE WeLcOmEd tO mY oWN cOuNtRy” posts," another wrote.
"I love welcome to country. It’s a great gesture that is meant to be inclusive. Haters are gonna hate," a third said.
On Sunday, Indigenous leader Warren Mundine called for unity after a Welcome to Country ceremony prior to an AFL match last week was met with fiery criticism. Aboriginal elder and cultural educator from the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council Brendan Kerin has since doubled down on the Welcome to Country address at the AFL match between the GWS Giants and Brisbane Lions earlier this month. “Welcome to country is not a ceremony we’ve invented to cater for white people, it’s a ceremony we’ve been doing for 250,000 years plus BC, and the BC stands for Before Cook,” Kerin said before the AFL match.
Speaking to Sky News on Sunday evening, Mr Mundine said he thought Kerin was “just doubling down” on an “indefensible position” and was dubious of the timeframe the cultural educator placed on the traditional ceremony. He added Welcome to Country was a “beautiful idea” but it had started to turn into a “very divisive political push”..
