The Australian Labor Party has moved to formally enshrine support for Welcome to Country ceremonies in its national platform in response to the rise of One Nation.<\/p>\n
According to a draft of Labor\u2019s National Platform to be considered at the 50th National Conference, the party has adopted formal support for Welcome to Country ceremonies.<\/p>\n
\u201cLabor is proud of the symbols of First Nations people, including the Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander Flag,\u201d the draft platform says according to The Australian.<\/p>\n
\u201cLabor recognises the importance of Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country ceremonies, as opportunities to show respect to First Nations people.\u201d<\/p>\n
The commitment was absent from Labor\u2019s 2023 National Platform but has been inserted amid the rapid rise in support for One Nation.<\/p>\n
The draft platform also said that the Labor Party was \u201cvery concerned by the rise of racism and of division\u201d and would set up a national \u201canti-racism strategy\u201d.<\/p>\n
Labor\u2019s revised platform also adopted the \u201cprinciples of the Uluru Statement from the Heart\u201d following the defeat of the Voice to Parliament referendum.<\/p>\n
The broader platform contains several other notable changes<\/a>, including a draft that removes explicit calls for Hamas to disarm and for the reform of the Palestinian Authority.<\/p>\n More than 2,000 delegates, including MPs, union representatives and party members, will vote on the platform on July 23.<\/p>\n The progressive policy platform comes as Labor has fallen behind One Nation in the latest Sky News Pulse \/ YouGov poll.<\/a><\/p>\n The most recent poll, conducted from June 23 to 30, showed One Nation on 30 per cent of the primary vote, ahead of Labor on 29 per cent.<\/p>\n Despite trailing One Nation on the primary vote, Labor would comfortably retain government, leading the Coalition and One Nation 54-46 on a two-party-preferred basis.<\/p>\n