Overview

• Pauline Hanson and Senators Malcolm Roberts, Warwick Stacey and Tyron Whitten turned their backs during the Acknowledgement of Country at parliament’s opening on July 22.
• Hanson told Sky News she has boycotted the ritual for three years, arguing it has become tokenistic and diverts attention from cost of living and housing crises.
• Indigenous Affairs Minister Malarndirri McCarthy labelled the protest a deliberate sign of disrespect toward First Nations Australians and accused One Nation of stoking division.
• Greens leader Larissa Waters said racism, not the Acknowledgement ritual, divides the nation and described Hanson’s protest as hypocritical.
• Despite the backlash, no parliamentary motion has been introduced to alter or remove the Acknowledgement of Country and it retains broad support across parties.