Liberal backbencher Wilson Tuckey says he is fiercely opposed to politicians acknowledging traditional landowners at official events, saying the practice is a “farce”.
Mr Tuckey has also criticised some Aboriginal dancers who perform welcome to country ceremonies as “grossly overweight” and says things have gone “downhill” for Indigenous people ever since the 1967 referendum.
The debate over acknowledging traditional owners at functions has been ignited by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who has criticised Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his ministers as engaging in “tokenism” and unnecessary political correctness.
Mr Tuckey agrees, saying he is “very, very, very opposed” to it.
“I think it makes a farce of it,” he said. “I have never thanked anyone for the right to be on the soil that is Australian.”
The outspoken Western Australian backbencher also says things have become worse for Indigenous people since 1967 and prior to white settlement the “best” Indigenous people had managed to get out of Australia was a “population of 300,000 people”.
“I have said publicly that 1967, when the Australian people voted to give this Parliament an opportunity to assist Aboriginal people, was the worst thing that’s happened for Aboriginal people in history – it’s been downhill ever since,” he said.
Acknowledgement a ‘fad’
Mr Abbott also has backing for his “tokenism” comments from senior Liberal frontbencher Eric Abetz, who has described acknowledging traditional owners as a “fad”.
“In general terms, I find it personally to be quite paternalistic, and why don’t we acknowledge a whole host of other people and indeed deities?” he said.
“It’s one of these fads that hit for a while and is now starting to fade. That’s what happens with fads.”
Mr Abbott says while there is a place for the practice in some instances, it is not suitable on most occasions.
“I certainly make these acknowledgments at what I think are suitable occasions. But to do it as a matter of course, to do it automatically – it does just look like formalism and tokenism,” he said.
Greens Senator Bob Brown says it should be done but only if it is genuine and with Indigenous involvement.
“I don’t think it needs to be a non-Indigenous performance, which is token,” he said