Melbourne elder lashes Storm as battle with board intensifies ahead of Indigenous round

3 months ago 19

Wurundjeri elder Aunty Joy Murphy says she will attend Melbourne Storm’s Indigenous round match on Thursday night, months after the last-minute cancellation of her Welcome to Country ceremony on Anzac Day.

But in a scathing statement, Murphy condemned the Storm’s association with board member and part-owner Brett Ralph, whose $75,000 donation to conservative lobby group Advance Australia has become a point of contention.

This masthead revealed in 2023 that Ralph donated $75,000 to Advance Australia last financial year through his company, JMR Management Consultancy Services. Advance was behind the No campaign in the Voice to Parliament referendum.

Murphy said she could not, in good conscience, participate in official Storm functions or cultural work until cultural respect and safety standards had been set.

“I carry a deep responsibility to community and will not compromise my integrity as a proud Aboriginal woman and community Elder,” she said. “We cannot support an organisation that has associations with any group that incites racial vilification and division.”

Just days ago, Melbourne Storm issued a formal apology to First Nations communities over the last-minute cancellation of the NRL club’s Welcome to Country ceremony in April.

Wurundjeri elder Aunty Joy Murphy had been scheduled to perform the ceremony on Anzac Day. Performances from First Nations groups were also planned.

However, the club abruptly cancelled the ceremony at the last minute, which the Storm later attributed to an internal miscommunication regarding the classification of cultural events.

Murphy said businesses, sporting codes, and clubs had a duty of care that must be led from the board level.

“Board members cannot support organisations that create harm to our people,” she said.

“Racism is dangerous. It is up to all leaders to act decisively and publicly to denounce racial harm and protect standards of safety. We want to see a commitment across all sporting codes.”

Despite the lack of a resolution with the board, Murphy said she would attend the game on Thursday night to support the players who were also feeling hurt.

“This is about the board not the game. This is about setting a standard not just for
Melbourne Storm but across all sporting codes,” she said.

“… There are many Aboriginal Nations across Australia and when people gather on my lands and the lands of my ancestors, my responsibility is to welcome them.

“While I will not do this officially tonight, I will be there to offer strength, healing and cultural safety, I do this with honour for our people, respect for what we have been given, and a commitment to diversity, inclusion, healing with purpose.”

The Storm said on Monday that they would have an Acknowledgement of Country before their clash with the Brisbane Broncos during the NRL’s Indigenous Round.

“Melbourne Storm has been in ongoing communication with members of the Wurundjeri community following the events on Anzac Day and has apologised to the individuals, groups, and communities involved. The club extends that apology to First Nations and Maori and Pasifika communities impacted,” the Storm said in a statement.

“As we continue to engage with the local community regarding connection to the club and cultural protocols and out of respect for those involved, the club will recognise the traditional owners of the land through an Acknowledgement of Country on Thursday night for Indigenous Round.”

Murphy accused the Storm of failing to recognise the cultural weight of Welcome to Country ceremonies.

“What we have learnt over the past month is that our culture, our ceremony, is not understood or respected and this makes us feel very sad,” she said.

“Cultural practice cannot be used as a token gesture.”

The cancellation of the ceremony at AAMI Park followed an incident at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance earlier that day, when far-right agitators had booed and heckled Bunurong elder Uncle Mark Brown’s Welcome to Country at the Anzac Day dawn service.

With Scott Spits and Alexander Darling

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