Kids have been told to touch the ground and repeat “always was, always will be Aboriginal land” before each assembly at a NSW primary school, a parent has claimed.
Shadow Indigenous Australians Minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says the Welcome to Country should be for “special occasions”.
This comes amid reports from a Queensland resident interviewing for a job being asked to do a Welcome to Country before the interview process began.
“I think reserve these things for special occasions,” Ms Price told Sky News Australia.
“The fact that we’ve got to be confronted with it at every single opportunity.
“I feel ridiculous when actually people will say, I want to acknowledge and pay our respects to all the Indigenous people in the room, and you look around the place, and sometimes you’re the only one in the room.
“Why are we being singled out here – let’s just move forward.”
A mother from the NSW Blue Mountains said the phrase – which has been a politically-charged slogan since the 1980s – had recently been adopted by her child’s school, according to news.com.au.
The mother, who did not want the school to be named, “only noticed recently” the changes made to assemblies.
Primary students at a Sydney school have been told to place their hands on the ground and repeat in unison “always was, always will be Aboriginal land”. Picture: Patrick Gorbunovs/News Regional Media
“I’m not sure a lot of people know,” she said.
“We have to touch the ground and say ‘always was, always will be Aboriginal land’ at the start of assembly at school now.
“A lot of the parents look confused when they place their hands on the floor for the Acknowledgement of Country.”
Another parent at the school said the practice had been happening for some time.
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The NSW Department of Education encourages the use of Welcome to Country and Acknowledgment of Country ceremonies as part of their “reconciliation action plan”.
The department aims to promote “greater understanding of and respect” for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across workplaces, schools, and in the wider community.
“Please see the list of traditional place names to find about more about the traditional place name of your school or area,” it said on the department’s website.
“Aboriginal education and training is core business for all staff in NSW public schools.
“Our schools are committed to improving outcomes for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and advancing reconciliation with their local communities.”
Aboriginal instrument versions of the national anthem have been used at some schools for years and are among the official recordings on the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s website. Picture: Sam Ruttyn/News Corp Australia
Director of the Foundations of Western Civilisation Program at the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) Dr Bella d’Arbera said the parent’s description of their primary school’s Acknowledgment of Country was an “appalling example of activism and division being forced upon our students”.
“It’s not surprising these ceremonies at schools are becoming more elaborate by the day,” Dr d’Arbera said.
“There is no place for activism in any classroom in Australia.”
Last month, Dr d’Arbera spoke to Sky News host Steve Price to discuss the impact of social justice and gender ideology which has started to infiltrate public schools.
Dr d’Arbera said early learnings had been “infiltrated”, with new research conducted by the IPA finding the federal government’s early years learning framework had mentioned diversity, equity and inclusion 140 times and Indigenous issues more than 90 times.
Parents, and the terms mother and father, were not mentioned at all.
Shadow Indigenous Australians Minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says the Welcome to Country should be for “special occasions”.
This comes amid reports from a Queensland resident interviewing for a job being asked to do a Welcome to Country before the interview process began.
“I think reserve these things for special occasions,” Ms Price told Sky News Australia.
“The fact that we’ve got to be confronted with it at every single opportunity.
“I feel ridiculous when actually people will say, I want to acknowledge and pay our respects to all the Indigenous people in the room, and you look around the place, and sometimes you’re the only one in the room.
“Why are we being singled out here – let’s just move forward.”
Shadow Indigenous affairs minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price expressed her shock after a Ramsgate Public School was exposed for playing an offensive song over its speaker system.
The Sydney public school came under fire in June for playing a song by an Australian rapper which depicts Captain Cook as a “murderer without a licence” and talks about the artist’s “desire to kill, any white devil wanna test my will”.
The school played the hip hop track by Birdz called Bagi-la-m Bargan to energise students before they start classes.
Lyrics from the song also described Cook as a “white devil” from the “land of the white skin”, who has a “cold, white heart”.