Liberal leader Peter Dutton calls for respect of Welcome to Country

Peter Dutton says people should respect Welcome to Country ceremonies if event organisers think they are needed, while reiterating his position that the leader of Australia should ensure the country is “united under one flag”.

The Opposition Leader and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, along with other ministers, were quick to condemn far-right protesters who interrupted Anzac Day dawn service ceremonies in Melbourne and Perth on Friday.

In both cases, the interruptions targeted the Welcome to Country and acknowledgement of Country portions of the service led by Indigenous elders.

The leaders reiterated that condemnation on Saturday.

“Anzac Day ceremonies are a sacrosanct part of our culture,” Mr Dutton told reporters in Cairns.

“They’re a way in which we respect the 103,000 Australians who have lost their lives, giving us the life that we enjoy today. We honour those people who have physical and psychological scars from their time in the Australian Defence Force, whether they’ve been deployed or hurt on a training exercise . . . it’s not a place for political statements.”

Mr Albanese said it was inappropriate disruptions of the dawn services that were “completely unacceptable”.

“The silence that occurs, the solemn nature of those events, is one that needs to be respected,” he told reporters in Melbourne.

“The men and women who wear our uniform deserve our respect, deserve our dignity.”

There has been increasing pushback from some quarters since the Voice to Parliament referendum about the place of Welcome to Country and acknowledgements of Country.

This includes some veterans on Friday reportedly saying they shouldn’t be part of Anzac Day services.

Shadow minister for Indigenous affairs and government efficiency Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has also previously said many people were “getting sick of Welcome to Country” and labelled them divisive.

She has pointed to taxpayer funds being used for the ceremonies as one area of spending she would look to cut.

Separately, Mr Dutton has also vowed that if elected prime minister, he would only stand in front of the Australian national flag for official events, not including the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags as Mr Albanese has done.

Asked whether he stood by these positions, Mr Dutton said people should respect Welcome to Country ceremonies when they were held.

“If an organiser of a particular event decides that there’s a Welcome to Country, then people can respect that decision,” he said.

He reiterated his position on flags was aimed at uniting Australians across society.

“I want our country to be as good as it can be, and we can’t be as good as we can be if we’re separating people into different groupings,” he said.

“Every Australian, whether you came here as a migrant from Greece or from Asia or any part of the world, in the 1800s or if you came here in 2018 or if you can trace your family tree back 60,000 years, we are all equal Australians.

“We can respect the Indigenous flag and the Torres Strait Island flag, but we unite under one flag.”

Mr Albanese would not be drawn on the role of Welcome to Country ceremonies.