Jacinta Nampijinpa Price defends Christian minister Dave Pellowe after he refused to do a Welcome to Country – as support pours in after he claimed he was prepared to go to jail to defend his rights

EXCLUSIVE

Australia’s Shadow Minister for Indigenous People Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says a Christian pastor who refused to hold a welcoming ceremony for a religious conference is entitled to express his views.

Right-wing preacher Dave Pellowe was taken before the Queensland Human Rights Commission after complaining that he had failed to include the Indigenous ritual, or smoking ceremony, in his national ‘Church and State Conferences’.

Instead, he read from Psalm 24, which says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it, the world and all who dwell in it. He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.”

Mr Pellowe decided to skip the ceremony because he felt the spiritual beliefs of the native people were at odds with his faith. He said: ‘You can’t mix Christianity, which is a true religion, with something that is made up.’

“The ubiquity of these Welcome to the Land rituals imposed on Australians of all faiths and non-faith at sporting events, when landing on a plane and when entering a government building,” he told Lyle Shelton, former executive director of the Christian Lobby.

“These are religious rituals that Christians in particular should not participate in.”

While many social media users were shocked by his actions, others supported him because they were concerned about freedom of religion.

Senator Price, who has previously called for the ritual to be scaled back, told Daily Mail Australia on Sunday that threatening Pellowe with legal action over religious expression was a threat to democracy.

“This is an example of the supposed right not to be offended being considered more important than freedom of expression,” she said.

‘People should have the right to express their beliefs that may conflict with the beliefs of another group, regardless of the culture or ethnic group involved. That is what it means to value freedom of expression.’

Ms Price said the legal threat was an “unacceptable infringement” on freedom of expression, which has contributed to Australia’s democracy.

“We cannot pretend that our society will not suffer if we continue on this path of distorted priorities,” she said.

The Liberal Party senator previously told media that the ‘Welcome to Country’ practices can be divisive and should therefore only be used on special occasions.

“There is no problem with acknowledging our history, but rolling out such performances before every sporting event or public gathering is certainly divisive,” she said.

‘Australians do not need to be welcomed into their own country.’

‘It’s not welcoming, it’s saying to non-Indigenous Australians “this is not your country” and that’s wrong. We’re all Australians and we share this great country.’

Dave Pellowe refused to hold a Welcome to the Land party or a smoking ceremony before a religious conference (stock image)

A number of X users appeared to support Mr. Pellowe.

A user said: ‘Welcome To Country or Else? How did it get to the point where pastors like Dave Pellowe are being taken to court by the AHRC for a welcome to country?’

Another wrote: ‘You have some very questionable ideas, but you are allowed to express them.’

A third user said: ‘That’s not mandatory.’

Others strongly opposed him for refusing to perform the ritual. One user noted: ‘It is just a ceremony that creates awareness and respect for the previous ownership and culture of traditional owners.’

Last week, Mr. Pellowe told Mr. Shelton that the original complaint came from a convention ticket holder who seemed offended when he compared indigenous beliefs to mainstream religions.

Conservative Christian pastor Dave Pellowe (pictured) says he will fight the complaint

“They asked me why I’m not concerned about offending indigenous peoples,” he said.

‘And my response to that was an explanation of the duty of Christians to preach the Truth and the Gospel and not to mix Christianity with false religion, such as the traditional religion of the Aboriginals.’

The complainant said he felt racially and religiously humiliated and vilified by Mr Pellowe’s comments.

The minister promised to fight the complaint on principle and said he was prepared to go to prison to defend his rights.

“I don’t care if the fine is $2.50, on the principle of it. I will not apologize for preaching the gospel,” he said.