Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Elder Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin says she will attend Thursday night's NRL Indigenous Round match between Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos, but remains "disappointed" a resolution has not been reached following the cancelled Welcome to Country earlier this year.
The Elder was "devastated" after being removed from the Anzac Day ceremony in April, and says she will not engage with the club until it parts ways with a board member who has donated heavily to the right-wing lobby group Advance.
Melbourne Storm faced significant backlash after cancelling Aunty Joy's Welcome to Country and planned performances by Wurundjeri dance group Djirri Djirri and Māori group Ngā Mātai Pūrua just hours before their Anzac Day clash against South Sydney Rabbitohs in April.
The decision came the same day as Bunurong Elder Uncle Mark Brown was heckled during an Anzac Day ceremony at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance, with one of the hecklers was reportedly a neo-Nazi.
The Storm later claimed the cancellation was due to internal miscommunication. The club said the board had previously agreed to limit Welcome to Country ceremonies to "major cultural events", but what qualified as such an event was not clearly defined.
This week, the club formally apologised to Indigenous communities and said Thursday's match would feature an Acknowledgement of Country to recognise the traditional owners of the land.
In a statement, Aunty Joy said she would attend the game to "show support for the players, staff, communities and supporting fans," but was still "disappointed that she has not been able to reach a resolution with the Melbourne Storm Board".
"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.
"I will always stand strong beside community and as a leader take responsibility to care for those who hurt badly."
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It's understood the cancellation caused distress among players, staff, and supporters. Aunty Joy said the situation carried a "cultural, social, and ethical responsibility to the broader community including First Nations, Māori, Pacifika, and non-First Nations players, staff, and fans".
"We feel this responsibility deeply. We are aware of the pain and say sorry that players and leaders within the club are feeling hurt by this situation," she said.
In February, media outlet The Klaxon revealed Storm board member and co-owner Brett Ralph had donated at least $275,000 to Advance Australia — a right-wing group known for opposing Welcome to Country ceremonies and described as "notorious for vilifying Palestinians and immigrant communities" by former NSW Labor premier and foreign minister Bob Carr.
Mr Ralph owns a 25 per cent stake in the Storm. His donations — and support for the No campaign — drew criticism from former long-time supporter and Yorta Yorta rapper Adam Briggs, who later withdrew his support for the club.
Aunty Joy, who has previously had a long-standing relationship with Storm, said Mr Ralph's position on the board made continued engagement untenable.
"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.
"We are willing to continue to work with Melbourne Storm to address the deep community concerns but cannot endorse any official functions or cultural work until measures are put in place to ensure cultural respect and safety for all."
Aunty Joy said the experience had left her tired and described it as a "very difficult and distressing time, creating enormous harm for many".
She extended her love to the Djirri Djirri Dancers and their representative Ky-ya Nicholson Ward, as well as two prominent members of the Māori community, Jeremy Nikora of Te Hononga o Nga Iwi and Tyson Tuala from Nga Matai Purua — both of whom were also deeply affected by the events on Anzac Day.
Ms Nicholson Ward said she supported Aunty Joy's decision not to engage with Storm "until there is meaningful change at board level", and called for a review of the club's leadership, saying their values had been called into question.
"Our decision to end our long-standing relationship with Melbourne Storm comes as a result of the disrespect shown towards Aunty Joy on ANZAC Day, which was a lost opportunity to honour her veteran father and First Peoples servicemen and women who fought alongside Australian soldiers," she said.
"Also, the racism and cultural unsafety we have witnessed at the board level. This includes an association with major donations supporting the divisive political group 'Advance Australia' — which promotes views directly opposed to our values, including calls to end Welcome to Country and immigration."
Jeremy Nikora and Tyson Tuala said they had "quietly held space" since the incident to allow Aunty Joy and Ms Nicholson Ward to speak directly with the club, hoping for a "resolution that restores dignity and ensures accountability".
"We also ceased all communication, cultural support, and activity with the Melbourne Storm organisation. This will continue until Aunty Joy is satisfied with the outcomes of the mediation process or gives us her blessing to re-engage," they said.
"We too have significant unresolved grievances with the organisation stemming from their staffs' actions within our community — before ANZAC Day — that we intend to address when and if Aunty permits us to do so."
They said they would attend Thursday's game as "guests on Kulin lands" and in "support and in protection of Aunty Joy".
"As Māori community group representatives, we believe it is our responsibility to always stand in solidarity with those of this land, especially when cultural ceremony is dismissed and when the integrity of an Elder is called into question," they said.
"We will continue to do so until we are assured that genuine, lasting change is being made at the executive level of the Melbourne Storm, to the satisfaction of Aunty Joy, Kyya, and their community.
"If it matters to them, then it must matter to us."
