Barnaby Joyce tight-lipped on whether Welcome to Country heckling was racist

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has avoided branding the booing that disrupted Welcome to Country addresses on Anzac Day as racist but condemned the hecklers for tainting the “sacredness” of the national commemoration day.

Welcome to Country addresses are a contemporary adaptation of formal, ancient Indigenous practices delivered by traditional owners, or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who have been given permission from traditional owners, to welcome visitors to their Country.

These addresses occurred at the beginning of several Anzac Day Dawn Services on Saturday but were interrupted in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth with loud boos and cries from the crowd.

Indigenous serviceman Uncle Ray Minniecon – whose grandfather served in the Light Horse Brigade – was booed during Sydney’s Martin Place service.

Uncle Mark Brown’s address in Melbourne and Whadjuk Noongar elder and veteran Di Ryder’s address in Perth were also disturbed by booing from the crowd.

At the time, the stunt was widely condemned by Indigenous leaders, senior military figures, and politicians.

On Monday, Mr Joyce told Sky News the Anzac Day Dawn Service was not the “place for any political statement”.

“It’s something for the unity of the Australian people, so I don’t condone anybody booing, or anything else, or any other political statements that are made at that date,” he said.

But when asked if the act was racist, Mr Joyce avoided answering and instead took aim at the practice of Welcome to Country itself.

“It creates problems when you start delineating between people, especially on a day such as Anzac Day, and I do not condone booing, so let’s move that out,” he said.“But I do think there needs to be a strong discussion about whether you’re going to have a Welcome to Country in front of veterans who have served our country.

“And (veterans) do get upset by saying, ‘Why are you (welcoming) me to my country. I am welcome. I’ve served you. I prepared to die for you’.

“I’m not a racist. From the people I talk to, they find it jarring to be welcomed to country at the Dawn Service.”

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister described the Welcome to Country booing as “disgraceful”.

“Welcome to Country is just a respectful thing to do. It’s respectful at public events and it’s respectful on Anzac Day,” Mr Marles told ABC Radio National.

“And Anzac Day is a day on which we show respect. And to have bullying in the face of that is profoundly disrespectful and in my mind goes against all that Anzac Day stands for.

“I mean the other point to make is that we have a very proud history of Indigenous Australians contributing to our defence force. We commemorate that on Anzac Day as well.”

He also criticised Opposition Leader Angus Taylor’s description of Welcome to Country ceremonies as “devalued”.

Mr Taylor had branded the Anzac Day heckling as “un-Australian” during an interview with ABC Insiders on Sunday.

But he caveated it with he could “understand the frustration Australians feel” about the Welcome to Country practice as a whole.

Mr Marles, when asked about Mr Taylor’s comments, said: “ I don’t agree with that.

“I mean, welcomes to country are fundamentally an act of respect, and I don’t think they are overused, and I don’t think Australians think they’re overused.”