Angus Taylor says Welcome to Country ceremonies are overdone
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said Welcome to Country ceremonies were being devalued by overuse after Indigenous figures were booed while speaking at Anzac Day dawn services.
Taylor condemned the booing, saying it was unbecoming of Australians to behave that way at a solemn event, but emphasized more broadly that he could “understand the frustration Australians feel about its overuse”.
“I feel it from time to time, most of the time actually. I think they’ve been overused and as a result their value has gone down,” he told the ABC. “I would like to see it not decrease in value as I think these are used less and therefore lose value over time.”
“It’s up to individual organizing committees to decide whether they want to do that. But the general principle should be: Let’s do it less often, and when it does happen, let’s make it more special.”
Taylor’s remarks echo those of former Liberal leader Peter Dutton, who said such ceremonies, which became commonplace at public events before last year’s election, were overrated.
The issue of symbolic recognition of Indigenous Australians dominated the political debate during the Voice of Parliament referendum in 2023, in which most Australians in every state voted against a proposed Indigenous representative body.
Cultural attitudes and immigration will be key issues in next month’s by-elections in the NSW regional seat of Farrer, previously chaired by Sussan Ley. Taylor is trying to win back the support of One Nation, which voted stronger than the Coalition and campaigned on a platform of nationalism and reducing immigration.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson spoke at an anti-immigration rally outside Parliament House in Canberra on Sunday. National leader Matt Canavan also attended.
Shouting and booing were heard at dawn ceremony ceremonies in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth on Anzac Day. At some events, attendees applauded to drown out the booing. A man has been arrested by NSW Police for what authorities described as a “disturbing act”.
Days before the ceremonies, organizers of anti-immigration group Fight for Australia posted on social media asking their supporters to attend the ceremonies and expressing dissatisfaction with the Indigenous ceremonies.
This imprint reported that among those booing at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne on Saturday were former members and known associates of the recently disbanded neo-Nazi group the National Socialist Network (NSN).
Victorian premier Jacinta Allan said the scenes disrespected “all those who fought and died for our freedoms”.
“Politicizing this holy day is despicable. I condemn this, and so does every leader,” he said.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said he was “disappointed that a small number of people were booing”. “Anzac Day should always be treated with the respect, seriousness and reverence it deserves.”
Indigenous academic Marcia Langton has called for people to be banned from attending future ceremonies, but it is unclear how such a move would be put into practice.
“The majority of those attending the services raised their voices and applauded in support of the speakers and to silence the vandals,” he wrote. Guardian Australia.
“What Uncle Mark, Uncle Ray and Aunt Di know, and what the elders of the RSL know, is that more than 118 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men served in the Australian Light Horse during the First World War.
“The morons who seek to steal the sacred moment from them, and those of us who observe with them at dawn services, deserve more than contempt and a few spiteful words.”
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Paul Sakkal is the Chief Political Correspondent. He has previously covered Victorian politics and won the Walkley award as well as the 2025 Press Gallery Journalist of the Year award. Contact him securely on Signal @paulsakkal.14.Connect with: X or email.
Rob Harris is a national correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Canberra. He is a former European correspondent.Connect via email.
