Cumberland Councilman Steve Christou Vows to Dump Welcome to Land Ceremonies if Re-Elected: 'Time to Stop Dividing the Community'

A city councilor has vowed to ditch the welcome to land ceremonies and instead focus on easing the cost of living if he is re-elected.

Cumberland Councilor Steve Christou announced on Monday his decision to abolish traditional Indigenous smoking ceremonies if his party is elected in this year's council elections.

Mr Christou, who was mayor of Cumberland Council in Sydney's west from 2017 to 2022, said the ceremonies did not represent the electorate's multicultural community.

“Starting this year, come the 2024 elections, I will absolutely make it a priority to dump welcome to country and smoke ceremonies,” he said.

“We will no longer pursue an Indigenous policy that represents 0.6 percent of the Cumberland City Council population at the expense of the majority of our diverse residents.”

Mr Christou said his recently launched Our Local Community party would help provide much-needed assistance to struggling families during the ongoing cost of living crisis.

“Instead, we will focus on housing affordability and cost of living and represent the majority of Cumberland City Council residents.” he said.

Approximately 240,000 people live in the Cumberland area, while less than one percent of the population is (identifies as) Indigenous.

Mr Christou also referred to the failed Voice to Parliament referendum after a majority of Cumberland residents voted against it.

“The people of Cumberland and Australia voted overwhelmingly to reject the Voice to Parliament campaign, with the Cumberland City Council local government area recording one of the highest no votes in the country,” he said. The Daily Telegraph.

His move to scrap the welcome at land ceremonies comes after several councils in South Australia voted to stop verbal recognition of land at meetings.

The City of Playford, which oversees Adelaide's northern suburbs, made the move in November 2023 and now has an 'inclusive' designation on their website.

The council has reserved verbal expressions of thanks for special events, such as the swearing-in of council members.

Earlier that same month, Adelaide's Northern Areas Council opted to remove expressions of thanks from meetings and from all official council correspondence.

Mr Christou said the move to ditch the ceremonies would see his newly launched party instead ease the cost of living (stock image)

Indigenous elder and Ngadjuri man Parry Agius denounced the council's decision, saying he “didn't know” why the ceremonies had been removed from council proceedings.

“(I) feel that Ngadjuri people are not wanted in that place, in that region,” Mr Aguis told ABC Radio.

“The reason behind recognition is really about recognizing that there were Aboriginal people before the area was colonized.”