EXCLUSIVE
Pauline Hanson has called for “racist teachers” to be sacked and banned for life for “brainwashing” pupils with “divisive” Acknowledgement of Country rituals.
The call comes after Daily Mail Australia revealed that every public school in the country has been officially asked to host the controversial ceremonies.
Parents of primary school children reported being dismayed to see their children being forced to touch the ground and chant ‘it was always Aboriginal land and always will be’ at the start of every school assembly.
In NSW, children as young as three are encouraged to take part in the ritual in taxpayer-funded preschools by declaring: ‘Today we play and learn at [the local Indigenous people’s] ‘Land and pay our respects to our elders, past and present.’
Senator Hanson told Daily Mail Australia she was “disgusted” by the practice and called for heads to roll.
“These racist activists — teachers and lecturers — know what they’re doing,” she said.
‘The activists are now coming for our children so they can try again with the new generation they have brainwashed.
Pauline Hanson has called for activist teachers to be sacked and banned from teaching for life, accusing them of trying to ‘brainwash’ the next generation of Australians.
One Nation leader says Welcome to Country ceremonies have no place in public schools
‘They get into the heads of children as early as possible to program them. That has to stop.
‘Any teacher who attempts to indoctrinate children should be fired and never allowed to teach in Australia again.
“Schools are for education, not indoctrination. Children should be taught how to think – critical thinking – not what to think.”
Each ministry of education has strict guidelines regarding the implementation of Welcome to the Country and Recognition Rituals in the taxpayer-funded schools in the country.
Welcoming ceremonies into the country, which can only be performed by appropriate indigenous elders, were considered essential at all major primary and secondary school events.
Meanwhile, an acknowledgement of the land – which “can be performed by anyone (children or adults) who wishes to pay their respects” – was encouraged as part of the daily curriculum.
Queensland has the strictest rules, with the state’s Department of Education insisting that “country recognition” must always be provided. [Department of Education] events’.
These include graduation ceremonies, award ceremonies, festivals and event launches, major conferences, major community forums, and school and venue openings.
The guidelines state that the proclamation can also be discussed during school meetings, sports days, meetings of parent and citizen committees and parties.
A ‘Welcome to Country’ is also mandatory at all major school events in South Australia, while ‘an Acknowledgement of Country’ is optional at other events, gatherings and forums, including school assemblies.
In Victoria, the rituals are being extended into the classroom, with the state’s Department of Education advising schools to “acknowledge traditional land owners at assemblies, start of lessons, school council meetings and parent information sessions.”
The Western Australian Department of Education’s guidance stated that it ‘supported’ the inclusion of ‘an acknowledgement of homeland at school assemblies, staff meetings and other internal events’.
Parents told Daily Mail Australia they were shocked to discover the ritual was now even being incorporated into young children’s after-school birthday parties.
“I took my daughter to a friend’s ninth birthday party in western Sydney and all the children had to take part in a recognition of their country,” one parent said.
“It was really strange — none of the kids at the party were Native — so it just seemed like some kind of virtue signaling from the parents. It was surreal.”
Stunned parents say the country’s recognition proclamations are now so ingrained in society that they are even starting to feature at children’s parties
The Acknowledgement of Country was even featured in a special episode of ABC’s Play School.
Senator Hanson said she told her grandson he did not have to participate in the rituals at that elementary school.
“When my grandson told me he was forced to touch the ground while making the divisive recognition of the homeland, I told him, ‘You don’t have to do that; this is your country too,’ and now he doesn’t do it anymore,” she said.
‘I encourage all Australian families to do the same. These are your children, not child soldiers being used as cannon fodder in a racist culture war.
“We must not allow future generations to be indoctrinated with racist divisions. Every Australian citizen born here or overseas has as much right to this country as anyone else.
‘Most Australians are tired of being told their country isn’t theirs.’
The One Nation leader has also called for a broader ban on the practice in all public, taxpayer-funded settings.
“They are recited at the start of every parliamentary sitting day, every council meeting and every Zoom meeting of civil servants,” she said.
‘We hear them at the end of every domestic flight. You can hear the groaning in the cabin every time.
‘That’s why One Nation called for a ban on Welcomes to Country last year, following through on a promise made by Voice to Parliament campaigner Marcia Langton.
‘It has become meaningless and offensive. It is an activist apparatus and a vehicle for the same racial division that Australians overwhelmingly rejected in last year’s referendum.
‘Australia belongs to all Australians, equally. That has been my position since I first entered parliament in 1996: equal rights for all, and special rights for none.’
Professor Langton is one of the key architects of the ‘Indigenous Voice to Parliament’ proposal.
The respected writer predicted last year that many Indigenous Australians would no longer participate in Welcome to Country ceremonies if the Voice to Parliament referendum was unsuccessful.
Last week, Prof Langton told Daily Mail Australia she was “unavailable” to comment on whether there was any reluctance or refusal to perform the ceremonies as proposed.
Marcia Langton would not comment on whether there was any negative reaction to the Welcome to Country ceremonies following Indigenous Voice’s failed referendum in parliament.
Anthony Dillon says the rituals are overused and the real focus should be on getting children into school
But Anthony Dillon, an Indigenous affairs academic, said the Welcome to Country and Acknowlegment of Country ceremonies had become so overused that they had both become largely meaningless.
“I’m not a big fan of the Welcome to Country campaign or the Acknowledgement of Country campaign,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
“They should be saved for special occasions. Under the right circumstances, if done with sincerity, they can be powerful and beautiful.
‘But unfortunately they are overused and have become almost obligatory on every occasion.
“I have no problem putting them in schools as long as they don’t get hijacked for political purposes and wrapped up in that whole ‘white man is bad, he should apologize’ thing.
“If people want to do that at children’s parties, that’s fine. I would probably cringe a little bit and if they asked me I would say I have nothing to do with it. But that’s up to the parents and it’s quite harmless.
‘At the same time, I’m not a fan of people who want to make a big political issue out of this. It’s not.
“Instead, we should focus on cleaning up the school environment of children and communities.”