A conservative Christian pastor claims he is being persecuted for refusing to hold a “Welcome to the Country” ceremony at the beginning of his religious gatherings, and he is prepared to go to jail to defend his rights.
Dave Pellowe said he had been taken to the Queensland Human Rights Commission after a complaint was made about his failure to include the Indigenous ritual – or smoking ceremony – at his national ‘Church and State Conferences’.
The outspoken right-wing preacher claimed he chose to skip the ceremony because “you can’t mix Christianity, a true religion, with something that’s made up.”
He said the man who filed the complaint against him had paid for a ticket to one of his conferences and attended the event, but then complained that “I racially insulted and demeaned him based on his race and religion.”
“I don’t know if he is of another faith or why he came to a Christian event to listen to a Christian teacher teaching Christian doctrine,” he told online news network ADH TV.
‘The ubiquity of these Welcome to the Country rituals imposed on Australians of all faiths and non-faith at sporting events, when landing on a plane, when entering a government building, when visiting a website and when starting a Zoom meeting.
‘These are religious rituals that Christians in particular should not participate in.
‘And in a democratic, so-called secular and pluralistic society it should also be something that is not funded by the taxpayer and not imposed by the government.
Conservative Christian pastor Dave Pellowe says he’s prepared to go to jail to defend his right to ban Welcome to Country ceremonies from his religious conferences
“It is 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, which bears all the hallmarks of paganism… inherently false beliefs,” he asserted.
“I don’t care if the fine is $2.50, on the principle of it. I will not apologize for preaching the gospel.”
Mr Pellowe spoke with controversial former Christian lobbyist and ADH TV host Lyle Shelton, who has himself been embroiled in a four-year battle with authorities over comments he made regarding his religion.
It comes after a long-serving mayor earlier this week criticised the Welcome to Country ceremonies, calling them “nonsense” as their appropriateness continues to be debated at council meetings.
Trevor Pickering, 54, was first elected mayor of Croydon Shire Council, in north Queensland, in 2012, and went on to win elections in 2016 and 2020.
Mr Pickering criticised the changing political climate, noting a growing fixation on ‘risk-assessed management plans’ and preferred words and phrases such as ‘inclusion’ and ‘resilience’.
The fourth-generation cattle farmer, who has been on the council since 2000, said he is “fed up with the nonsense” and will not participate in the next vote.
When asked for his views on the Welcome to Country ceremonies, Mr Pickering said he refused to hold them at his council meetings.
“I have a cousin who is Aboriginal, I have other family members who identify as Aboriginal, I grew up with Aboriginal people and I’ve made friends with Aboriginal people,” he told the Courier Mail.
“This whole Welcome to Country thing is complete nonsense.”
Welcome to the Country and Recognition Ceremonies are a hot topic for city councils across the country.
The mayor of Croydon Shire Council in North Queensland, Trevor Pickering (pictured), will not stand in the next election amid frustrations with ‘woke’ culture
In November, South Australia’s Northern Areas Council abandoned its recognition of the land, while Western Australia’s Shire of Harvey remained divided over its need, with one councillor even calling it “symbolic”.
Welcome to Country ceremonies are also gaining a lot of attention in the business world.
In May, an Australian applied for a customer service position at an insurance company and was shocked when the manager opened the interview with a thank-you note.
Civil servants launched a fierce attack on the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General’s Office the following month after staff were asked to remove their shoes and wiggle their toes.
Mr Pickering said most Australians would find it difficult if someone regularly ‘welcomed’ them to the land where their family has lived for 100 years.
Leading ‘No’ campaigner Warren Mundine said the ceremony had been hijacked, when it was originally intended to bring Australians together.
“There is a division in terms of, ‘What is wrong with us? We have been here for a while, this is our country,’ and things like that,” Mundine said in March.
“I think the problem is the trivialization of it. We should do a proper welcome and you shouldn’t do it at every meeting.
‘I’m going to a few conferences and you’ll spend half a day on Welcome to Country.’
Mr Pickering disagreed with the Welcome to Country ceremonies (file image), which he said were confrontational for Australians whose families have lived on the land for 100 years
Nathan Moran, director of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, said the ceremonies were still about inclusivity, but he was concerned that this might be trivialised.
“I don’t think it’s about division, I think it’s about inclusion. I’m concerned that it’s being trivialized, it’s being disrespected, it’s not being presented in an appropriate way,” Moran said.
“I just hope it’s delivered in the right way by the right people. Because I’m a representative of the Aboriginal community. We’re a democratic community, we have elected representatives who represent us.