Kyle Sandilands has fired up over the Welcome to Country acknowledgement as he claimed it has been devalued by its ‘overuse’.
The radio shock jock, 52, spoke about the Welcome to Country performance at the State of Origin opener on Wednesday in Sydney on his KIIS FM radio show.
Savannah Fynn acknowledged the traditional owners of the land before Australian Idol’s Dylan Wright performed a country music rendition of the national anthem.
Kyle and his radio co-host Jackie discussed the mixed reception to Dylan’s unique rendition of the anthem on the radio on Thursday morning as they praised the singer.
While praising both individual performances, Kyle went on to criticise football matches for adopting the Welcome to Country acknowledgement generally.
Kyle Sandilands has fired up over the Welcome to Country acknowledgement as he claimed it has been devalued by its ‘overuse’
Speaking on the Kyle and Jackie O Show, he said he believes the traditional acknowledgement has lost its impact because it is ‘overused’ commercially.
A traditional Welcome To Country sees an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander custodians welcome people to their land at the beginning of an event or ceremony.
But Kyle said of the message’s overuse: ‘You know what I’ve been noticing? People are s***canning the Welcome to Country because it’s overused and lost it’s impact!’
He criticised corporations and football matches for adopting Welcome to Country as he claimed its ‘powerful’ and ’emotional’ meaning has become lost on Aussies.
He slammed football matches for adopting the Welcome to Country after Savannah Fynn acknowledged the traditional owners of the land at the State of Origin opener on Wednesday
‘People get annoyed now rather than getting immersed into the culture and making them feel spiritually aware, people don’t like having the smoke waved and everyone dancing,’ he fumed.
‘I think that’s sad, it’s so overused, it’s pathetic. They’ve ruined the message from the aboriginals by using it on Qantas, Foxtel, at the football.
‘You can’t go to the shopping centre without someone welcoming you to country at Westfield. It’s overused and it needs to dial back a bit.’
Kyle argued that it ‘should always be an amazing thing’ while his co-host Jackie, 49, agreed that the Welcome to Country has been overused commercially.
The radio shock jock, 52, criticised corporations and football matches for adopting Welcome to Country as he claimed its ‘powerful’ and ’emotional’ meaning has become lost on Aussies
‘It’s lost it’s powerful meaning. A Welcome to Country from the indigenous folks who live here, that have always lived here, should be an extremely powerful, emotional and spiritual feeling,’ he added.
His comments came after Savannah performed Welcome to Country at the State of Origin opener on Wednesday night in Sydney.
She was praised by viewers for acknowledging the traditional owners of the land, before declaring ‘may the best team win’ while kitted out in Blues gear.
Some fans also expressed her pride at Savannah acknowledging her Dubbo roots, a city in the Orana Region of NSW.
