‘Tokenism’: Senator Price Backs One Nation Protest Against Indigenous Acknowledgement Ceremony

Labor senators condemned the protest after One Nation physically turned their backs during the Acknowledgement to Country.

One Nation Senators Tyron Whitten, Warwick Stacey, Malcolm Roberts and Pauline Hanson turn their back on the Indigenous Acknowledgement to Country in the Senate chamber for the opening of the 48th Federal Parliament at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on July 22, 2025. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

Just a day after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Welcome to Country ceremonies “should never be controversial,” the tradition became the subject of political dissent in Parliament.

On the second day of the 48th Parliament, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and her party’s senators turned their backs during the Acknowledgement of Country in the Senate.