South Australian council becomes the first since the Voice referendum failure to dump Welcome to Country

A huge council has become the first to cut Welcome to Country acknowledgments from its meetings and remove them from official correspondence since the Voice to Parliament referendum was rejected.

Northern Areas Council, 200km north of Adelaide, passed a motion earlier this month to remove official recognition of meetings.

Mayor Sue Scarman said an acknowledgment of the land had been read at the start of council meetings for two years.

Councilors had decided to ditch the ritual because Australia was ‘one country’.

The motion was initiated by Councilor Hank Langes and seconded by Councilor John Barberien, but was not unanimous.

Cr Barberien did not respond to questions when contacted by Ny Breaking Australia, while Mayor Scarman and Cr Langes declined to comment.

However, Mayor Scarman told the story The advertiser described the decision as democracy in action.

An acknowledgment of the land and welcome to the country is seen as an opportunity to show respect for indigenous culture and traditional owners.

By incorporating the ritual into meetings, gatherings and events, it reminds Australians that they live and work on Aboriginal and Torre Strait Islander lands, Reconciliation Australia said.

On its website, the Northern Areas council says its wards are on the ancestral lands of traditional owners Ngadjuri and Nukunu.

The council covers areas in Adelaide’s mid-north such as Jamestown, Georgetown, Gladstone, Spalding, Laura, Tarcowie and Yacka.

The decision comes after the overwhelming defeat of Voice to Parliament and growing criticism that Welcome to Country is being overused in Australia.

South Australians surprised the Yes campaign by voting overwhelmingly against including a Voice to Parliament in the constitution, with 61.47 percent voting no.

All ten federal voters also voted against.

The council’s decision also comes just days after One Nation leader Pauline Hanson called for a ban on Welcome to Country after losing the referendum.

On its website, the Northern Areas Council – which is 200 kilometers north of Adelaide – says its wards are located on the ancestral lands of traditional owners Ngadjuri and Nukunu.

The motion to abolish the ritual was initiated by Councilor Hank Langes and seconded by Councilor John Barberien, but not every council member agreed with the move.

She said she wanted to hold lead vote architect Professor Marcia Langton to her promise made in April that a no vote would put an end to her performances of the ceremony.

“We can only hope that this promise is kept,” Senator Hanson said in a post on

She claimed Australians, including some Indigenous people, were “sick” of the ritual.

“They are recited at the start of every parliamentary session, every council meeting and every zoom meeting of civil servants,” she continued.

‘We hear them at the end of every domestic flight, you hear the groans in the cabin every time.

‘They have essentially lost all meaning through their constant repetition.

“Australians – including many Indigenous people – are fed up with them. They are tired of being told that Australia is not their country.”

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson (pictured) called for a ban on Welcome to Country rituals earlier this month after losing the referendum

An acknowledgment of land is seen as an opportunity to show respect for indigenous culture and traditional owners (photo, a smoking ceremony in Canberra)