Sam Newman says Polly Farmer would agree after encouraging people to boo Welcome to Country

Sam Newman has put himself in hot water once again after launching a tirade against the Welcome to Country and encouraging AFL fans to boo the ceremony.

Newman called the Welcome to Country “nonsense” that had been turned into propaganda.

“If we are at all serious about the Welcome to Country and the nonsense that has suddenly taken over in the last 20 years from a completely harmless introduction by Ernie Dingo some years ago, and people have latched onto it,” he told the Daily Mail.

“What about this, next time you go to a public event like the grand final or a football game or any public event in an auditorium and they trot out the welcome to country, start booing … or slow hand clapping.

Camera IconSam Newman has railed against the Welcome to Country. Credit: Freelancer Avaialble Nicole Clea/News Corp Australia

“The AFL should be absolutely horsewhipped for whipping people into a frenzy about it. Patronising their whiteness by thinking they can virtuously cast off all their sins on us.”

When asked what WA great Graham “Polly” Farmer would think of his views, given Newman had referred to him as a great mentor and inspiration in his playing days, he said: “I played with and was a great friend of Polly Farmer and got on very well with him, and he was not into any of this.

“When he was at Geelong, no reference was ever made about his race.”

Camera IconGraham ‘Polly’ Farmer in his playing days for Geelong Picture AFL Credit: Unknown/AFL

Unsurprisingly his comments have been widely criticised, with Indigenous Senator Lidia Thorpe slamming the footy pundit.

“We all are on stolen land, there has never been a treaty, and a Welcome to Country is a way to bring people along on an understanding of the country that you are all living on,” she told the Today show on Thursday.

“I think that it’s important for people to understand that the land that they’re on and the stories behind that.

“There’s a lot of beautiful stories that go with Welcomes, and people learn from that, and people have a deeper understanding of how to protect the country.

“I don’t think that there’s too many. I think that the stories that are told are important for this country to be able to mature and come together.”

Camera IconSenator Lidia Thorpe has blasted Sam Newman’s comments. Credit: News Corp Australia

Newman is a prominent member of the No campaign and is no stranger to controversy, most recently making offensive remarks regarding Indigenous history.

“I don’t think there’s a hell of a lot of Indigenous history to learn … they don’t have a history,” he said in his podcast.

Newman also took a swipe at the eulogy for Indigenous icon Uncle Jack Charles at the 2022 grand final, branding him a “heroin-addicted Indigenous felon”.