Welcome to country ceremonies will be held as planned before both Thursday’s Women’s State of Origin clash and the men’s Magic Round, which gets under way on Friday, as the NRL remains committed to its Reconciliation Action Plan despite the politicisation of the practice.
Coalition leader Peter Dutton said the ceremonies were “overdone” in a televised debate on Sunday with prime minister Anthony Albanese, who said deciding whether to include a welcome to country was up to individual organisations but that the practice was a “matter of respect”.
