Obama visit marred as Aboriginal elder is AXED from Welcome to Country as the ex-President flies to Melbourne by private jet: ‘I have never been treated or spoken to in this way’
- Wurundjeri Elder Joy Murphy, 78, axed from event
- She was due to perform Welcome to Country for Obama
- Organisers removed her, claimed she was being ‘difficult’
An Aboriginal elder who has welcomed the likes of Nelson Mandela, Queen Elizabeth II and the Dalai Lama has revealed she was axed from Barack Obama’s Melbourne event after organisers said she was ‘being too difficult’.
Wurundjeri Elder Joy Murphy, 78, was set to perform the Welcome to Country ceremony for the ex-US President’s speech in Melbourne on Thursday night.
Ahead of the event, she asked organisers if she could bring a support person and a cultural gift for Mr Obama.
However, the shocked elder says she was then told she was being ‘too difficult’ by the organisers, the Growth Faculty, who axed her from the event.
The row comes as Mr Obama and his wife Michelle arrived in Melbourne by private jet, with the couple sipping coffees as they climbed into their motorcade.
In a statement, Aunty Joy said she had never been ‘treated or spoken to in this way’.
‘I have been shocked and distressed by the way I have been treated by event organisers,’ she said.
‘I am 78 years of age. I have never been treated or spoken to in this way in the past.
Wurundjeri Elder Joy Murphy, 78, was set to perform the Welcome to Country ceremony for Barack Obama’s event
The row comes as Mr Obama and his wife Michelle arrived in Melbourne by private jet
‘I do not want this to be a reflection on President Obama. I am a leader of the Wurundjeri Nation. I asked to be treated as an equal.’
The Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Cultural Heritage Corporation also slammed the organisers and described their actions as ‘a deep offence to the Wurundjeri people and to all First Nations people’.
‘Welcome to Country protocols are our traditional law and practice that have been used to welcome and offer protection to our guests on Wurundjeri lands for millennia,’ a statement said.
‘Aunty Joy Murphy has welcomed dignitaries of the highest level to Wurundjeri Country, including the Queen, Nelson Mandela, and the Dalai Lama.’
‘She has had the honour and the responsibility as the senior Aboriginal elder of the Wurundjeri people to welcome people to our country for over 40 years.’
The ex-US President sat down with former foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop in Sydney on Tuesday. A further 10,000 people are expected at his Melbourne event on Wednesday
The Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Cultural Heritage Corporation described the incident as ‘a deep offence to the Wurundjeri people and to all First Nations people’
Former US President Barack Obama (centre) waves to onlookers after leaving the Bathers Pavilion in Balmoral, Sydney
Daily Mail Australia has contacted The Growth Faculty for comment.
Wednesday’s speech is Mr Obama’s second in the country, after he addressed a sell-out crowd in Sydney on Tuesday night.
Those who wished to hear Obama speak had to dig deep into their pockets for a ticket, with a standard entry coming in at just under $200.
The event’s ‘platinum package’, which cost $895, featured a welcome cocktail at a one-hour drinks function, commemorative lanyard and signed copy of Mr Obama’s memoir A Promised Land.
With a further 10,500 to see Mr Obama talk at Wednesday’s Melbourne event, he could be up for a payday upwards of $1million.