Carla Rogers is a community engagement specialist, facilitator, and program designer dedicated to Closing the Gap. After a Churchill Fellowship in 2001, she founded Evolve in 2005 and later joined forces with Aunty Munya. Blending Elder wisdom with world-class facilitation, she equips non-Indigenous Australians with the skills to become passionate and effective Allies to First Nations people.
It was 2005, I was lying on the floor of a meditation workshop at the foot of Gulaga, the sacred mountain of the Yuin people, eyes closed, breath steady.
A voice filled the space, rich with wisdom and poetry, and in that moment, it reached deep into my soul.
Fast forward to last Saturday, and I was captivated again – this time, not by a recording, but by the presence of David Whyte, the British poet and storyteller, on stage at the Wesley Chapel. No slides, no gimmicks, just the raw power of words.
David opened with a blessing, describing it as:
“The art of bringing things alive so they can be felt and experienced in their true, essential form… a way of calling the extraordinary from the ordinary.”
Which brings me to Welcome to Country.
“A Welcome to Country provides visitors with safe passage through Country. It’s a prayer and a blessing.” – Aunty Munya
Another form of blessing – one that has recently come under attack.
A powerful article in The Sydney Morning Herald, “Feeling Unwelcome: Why Debate is Mounting Over an Ancient Ceremony”, explored the growing backlash against Welcome to Country. Critics claim it is divisive or costly, yet the reality is far from it.
At a local council meeting in Taree, a place I know well, Councillor Mick Graham dismissed the practice as “woke and meaningless”, while others declared: “Time will bury the Welcome.”
In that same room, Biripi man Jeremy Saunders sat quietly, later sharing:
“This has been really difficult on us as a people—it puts us down. Welcome to Country is about love, about acceptance, about appreciating this beautiful place we share.”
The Truth Behind the Misinformation
The backlash against Welcome to Country is not just about ceremony – t’s about Indigenous cultural visibility. Misinformation is driving the debate, including:
- The false claim that it is divisive – In reality, it is a generous invitation to share and respect Country.
- The cost argument – Some say it’s a “multi-million-dollar industry,” yet over two years, only $550,000 was spent by federal agencies—compared to $10 million allocated for Australia Day events in a single year.
- The idea that it’s a modern invention – In truth, it has existed for tens of thousands of years as a protocol for seeking permission to enter another group’s land.
“One of the biggest misrepresentations is that it is a Welcome to Australia (the country), but it isn’t. It is a Welcome to specific tribal territory.” – Aunty Munya
Closing the Gap
This issue speaks to something much deeper.
A Welcome to Country is an act of recognition, a moment to say, we see you, we respect you, we share this land together. When that is dismissed or erased, it sends a powerful message of exclusion.
Which brings me back to David Whyte, who describes friendship as:
“The ultimate touchstone is witness – the privilege of having been seen by someone and the equal privilege of being granted the sight of the essence of another… to have accompanied them, however brief a span, on a journey impossible to accomplish alone.”
This is echoed by Aunty Munya:
“A Welcome to Country is extending the hand of friendship. It’s about seeing us. For a people who historically have not been seen and marginalised, this is a powerful gesture.”
Are we going to turn our backs on this extended hand?
How will we show up as Allies? We have lots of ideas – but I’d love to hear from you too. What are your thoughts on this? Did something in this email resonate with you – or challenge you?
Join our community of Allies
Let’s show our Indigenous brothers and sisters that we are here for them, we value their Voices and we are committed to continuing the journey towards Reconciliation.
