A proposal to eliminate Acknowledgement and Welcome to Country ceremonies in a Western Australia council was recently rejected. The proposal, put forward by Councillor Craig Carbone, was met with resistance from local Indigenous communities. Carbone called the ceremonies “tokenistic” and “virtue signaling,” but the council opted to review these policies with input from Indigenous leaders and community members.
The decision to reject the proposal was made after the Shire of Harvey council acknowledged the sensitivity of the issue for both the council and the wider community. The president of the Shire of Harvey, Michelle Campbell, emphasized the importance of these ceremonies and their impact on community unity. Greg Little, Chairman of Harvey Aboriginal Corporation, also stressed the significance of the Welcome to Country ceremony and warned that abolishing it could divide the community.
Despite his proposal being rejected, Councillor Carbone expressed support from the wider community for his stance against what he described as “virtue-signalling and tokenism.” He maintained the belief that these ceremonies do not lead to better outcomes for Indigenous communities and said it was time for the country to move forward as a multicultural nation. He also called for gathering input from ratepayers to determine a way forward.