Sussan Ley has offered her ‘simple’ and straightforward view on Welcome to Country ceremonies.
The newly-elected Liberal Party leader was asked whether she agreed with former leader Peter Dutton’s claim that the Indigenous ceremonies were ‘overdone’.
It became a national talking point during the last week of the election campaign after a Welcome to Country ceremony during Melbourne’s Anzac Day dawn service was booed.
Ley made her own views clear on Tuesday afternoon.
‘With respect to Welcome to Country, it’s simple: if it’s meaningful, if it matters, if it resonates, then it’s in the right place,’ she said.
‘As Environment Minister and Health Minister I listened carefully and participated in Welcome to Country ceremonies that were all of those things.
‘If it is done in a way that is ticking a box on a Teams meeting then I don’t think it is relevant.
‘I think it actually diminishes the value of what it is and it’s important that we understand that.’
The cultural practice became a major issue in the final week of the election campaign after an address by Bunurong elder Mark Brown at Melbourne’s Anzac Day dawn service was drowned out by boos and jeers.
One of those responsible was a neo-Nazi and the ugly scenes were condemned across the political spectrum.
But the episode sparked a national debate after a veteran was filmed telling a Channel Nine reporter it was a ‘slap in the face’ for those who have served their country in battle to be welcomed to it.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said he thought the ceremonies were ‘overdone’, later clarifying that he did not think they were appropriate on Anzac Day.