Senate debates
Wednesday, 18 September 2024
Statements by Senators
Welcome to Country Ceremonies
1:49 pm
Alex Antic (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source
It was hardly surprising to see a welcome to country before the opening of the Brisbane-GWS AFL match last weekend, but what was surprising was the assertion that these ceremonies have been conducted for 250,000 years, BC—that's 'Before Cook'. Prior to this, we'd been told that the history of Aboriginal Australians began 50,000 to 60,000 years ago. Now, the idea that AFL fans and players are expected to listen to these ceremonies when all they actually want to do is watch the football is extraordinary, and one suspects that many viewers, who in principle wouldn't have had a problem with these practices, are getting as fed up—
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