Why Bother to Acknowledge Country?

I’ve always been fascinated by the ancient Greeks’ method of debating in their outdoor amphitheatres. The first speaker would stand and present their ideas and after they had finished talking, sit.  The opposing speaker wold stand and was required to summarise the key points made by the first speaker, before submitting their own facts and opinions. 

The Greeks showed us the importance of acknowledging different points of view as a courtesy, as a sign of respect that was balanced with both give and take.

In June 2011, the Victorian coalition government announced the scrapping of the previous labour government of policy of acknowledging of country (AOC) at public events. Their timing was impeccable. It was done during the Indigenous round of the AFL. 

The then coalition government claimed it was too politically correct.

Three former state premiers spoke out about the decision. The first was former liberal premier Jeff Kennett, stating it was demeaning and disrespectful to use the AOC at every function, particularly when it came across as rote. 

The second was former Labour premier Steve Bracks who introduced the protocol in his term. He stated dumping it would be a retrograde step.

The third was Joan Kirner. She was upset that an AOC had become a political issue, rather than understanding the importance and significance of it as a protocol. 

I suspect some people reading this may well ask why is it so important, and what difference does it make?  

Let’s imagine for a moment you have accepted an invitation to a friend’s place for dinner. At the appointed time, you rock up on their doorstep, ring the doorbell and wait for it to be opened. When you see the face of your host, you are acknowledged, and welcomed inside. 

Then you as a guest acknowledge the host for inviting you into their home. You might even make a comment about their place,how warm or cool the weather is.

All of these types of conversations are perfunctory. Routine necessary small talk until people become more comfortable with each other during the meal.  

A second example might be when you go to a restaurant. The maitre de recognises you and welcomes you at the reception area. They then check if there is a table for you and then walk you to your table. You acknowledge their hospitality. 

When you are seated, you make a comment about the views, the decor or the hospitality and acknowledge this to your dinner partner. Again small talk, that eventually segues into more meaningful discussions.

A third example, might be in a professional workplace setting.  You might be visiting a manager or worker at their workplace. The purpose of your meeting might be a project in common, a new partnership, or a dozen other joint ventures around a common theme. Often your host will invite you to their meeting room. A common response is “thank you for meeting with me today”.  

In all three examples, you are simply acknowledging place, people and their hospitality.

The word acknowledge means to show, to recognise, to appreciate, to admit to being real. 

In the Aboriginal space, an Acknowledgement of the Country (AOC) is a way of authentically showing you recognise the hosts of the land you are on. You are appreciating their hospitality. You are admitting they are real.  

Another purpose of an AOC is to identify and name the land and the custodians of the land you are a guest on. 

Acknowledging place sends a message to the host of your integrity and respect for them.   

Imagine a time in the long past there might have been a be a drought, a flood, a fire which  inevitably led to a short supply of usual food and or water sources. The mob would be forced to go off their own country onto another in search of food.

It would be much like going to the neighbour next door and asking to borrow a cup of sugar.

It might have been a bush mob visiting a coastal mob, with “knock” on the bark of closest tree near the camp of the traditional owners. 

After hearing of their visitors' difficulties in sourcing sufficient food and water, the hosts or traditional owners would have offered a Welcome to Country.  In response, the visiting mob would have given an Acknowledgement of Country.  

Both mobs would be showing respect through their shared protocols. 

Other reasons for visiting another mob’s country might involve attending a ceremony for typical life cycle events such as births, deaths or marriages. 

However, the protocols mentioned above are more than visitation ritual. It’s about a social, emotional and respectful practice that implies connection, engagement and acceptance. 

Think of a time when you didn’t acknowledge your hosts either personally or professionally in home or workplace settings.  I suspect you’d be hard pressed to find one. 

I suspect that in turn, you’d be hard pressed to find a reason NOT to acknowledge country. Be it perfunctory, politically correct or just even everyday courtesy.   

Acknowledgements are a universal social courtesy that occurs routinely as a sunrise or sunset across every corner of the earth, every 24 hours. It is deeply enmeshed in multiple day-to-day social interactions.

Acknowledgements of place, space and people are common everyday practices across almost every aspect of Australian life.