Polls: Most Australians against Welcome to Country on Anzac Day, 60% say it is divisive. By Nicholas Commo at The Daily Mail.
The IPA-commissioned survey of 1,001 Australians aged 18 and over, conducted by independent research firm Dynata between April 23 and 27, found:
- 49 per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the ceremonies should no longer be performed at Anzac Day services. By contrast, only 31 per cent wanted the formality to be continued, while the rest were uncertain. …
- Sixty per cent of respondents said they felt the practice now causes division, compared with just 12 per cent who disagreed. …
Institute of Public Affairs deputy executive director, Daniel Wild, said the polling pointed to a significant shift in public sentiment following last weekend. …
‘It is bad enough that Welcome or Acknowledgement of country ceremonies have become pervasive in public and corporate life. But when this overreach impacts on our most sacred of days, enough is enough.’…
‘Welcome to Country ceremonies are anything but welcoming,’ he said. ‘They have become hostile, aggressive, and a form of moral hectoring designed to make Australians feel bad about their nation and history.’
He rejected claims that critics were acting disrespectfully, arguing instead that many Australians believed the ceremonies detracted from the intent of national days.
‘Creating division along racial lines is far more disrespectful to the memory of our fallen than objecting to their inclusion on a completely inappropriate basis,’ Wild said.
Again, our ruling class have adopted the minority position and admonish us to be virtuous/stupid like them. We got lectures after Anzac Day by politicians from Albanese down calling the booing of Welcome to Country “ugly,” “disgusting”, and “disgraceful”, without any attempt to argue for why those ceremonies should be included in Anzac Day. Sheer class bigotry, like Hillary Clinton’s infamous “deplorables” comment.
Even Angus Taylor condemned the booing, merely acknowledging “frustration” and dissenting that WTC is ” devalued by overuse.” How safe, Angus. Show some leadership.
When it comes to the ruling class, Carly Simon was onto something (great song, by the way):
UPDATE: B.W. Jackson:
What I find particularly notable is that these “welcomes” are not actually that welcoming. Their focus is not the audience purportedly being “welcomed” but “paying respects” to the speaker’s community.
At Anzac Day in Melbourne, the speaker made zero reference to the Anzacs.
Welcome to Country’ not so subtly implies that non-Aboriginal Australians do not currently belong here, Australia is not their country too, and they need to be welcomed to their own country by Aboriginals – even when they may have been in Australia for generations and may have made enormous sacrifices building our country.
Also, what happens if Aboriginals decide to ‘Unwelcome to Country’ everyone of European descent?
Do all those people have to leave because Australia is “Aboriginal land – always was, always is” and Aboriginal “Sovereignty was never ceded”, so Aboriginals get to dictate who can be here and who can not? Do they get special privilege and status in modern Australia and its policies over and beyond participating in democracy – or do we have a sacred caste whose members are worth more than anyone else?
Maybe sovereignty should be ceded. Which Aboriginal group to do we see about that? Do we have to fight a war or something?