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Barnaby Joyce has clashed with Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek over the frequency of Welcome to Country ceremonies, claiming the address is ‘overdone’.
The Nationals MP and Ms Plibersek appeared on Seven’s Sunrise and argued about Welcome to Country ceremonies on Monday.
The pair discussed the ceremonies after a group of protesters, one of whom is a known neo-Nazi, booed the Welcome to Country at Melbourne’s ANZAC Day Dawn Service.
Ms Plibersek labelled those involved in the booing as ‘scumbags’ and said she enjoys the Welcome to Country ceremonies as it helps her learn about country’s history.
‘Anybody who boos anyone on Anzac Day as that guy [did] in Melbourne is just a scumbag,’ Ms Plibersek said.
‘As someone who attends a lot of events, I really like learning about the history and culture of the area that I’m visiting.’
Joyce agreed that the behaviour at the Dawn Service was appalling and that no one had the right to scream out anything during Anzac Day.
However, he argued Welcome to Country ceremonies were ‘overdone’ and was leading to an ‘aggravation’ being built up within the community.
‘People are starting to feel awkward at them and awkward goes to anger at times. That is something we don’t want,’ Mr Joyce said.
‘I certainly don’t want to be welcomed back to my own hometown. I think veterans have a genuine concern, if they’ve signed on the dotted line to [serve] for this nation, they don’t believe they need to be welcomed to it.
‘We’ve got to be a lot more discerning about how we do this because there is an aggravation that’s building up in the community, and the best thing to do to avoid that is to be a lot more discerning about when you do Welcome to Countries.’
