Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has joined calls to scale back the use of Welcome to Country ceremonies, saying "Australians don't need to be welcomed to their own country" and labelling the practice "divisive" within some forums.
The Senator's comments come as former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, federal opposition leader Peter Dutton and National Party leader David Littleproud have all indicated support for a winding back of the custom.
Speaking at a Voice to Parliament No Campaign event earlier this month, Mr Abbott said he is "getting a little bit sick of Welcomes to Country because it belongs to all of us, not just to some of us".
Amid committing to legislating constitutional recognition of First Nations Australians as well as a local and regional Voice model last week should the coalition form Government as the next federal election, Mr Dutton expressed some reservations over Acknowledgement of Country and Welcome to Country ceremonies.
"I think it's a respectful way to acknowledge the Indigenous heritage of our country; it's why I support Constitutional recognition…But I do get the point that when you go to a function and there's an MC who I think appropriately can do recognition, you then get the next five or ten speakers who each do their own Acknowledgement to Country, and frankly, I think it detracts from the significance of the statement that's being made," he told 2GB radio.
Senator Price later issued her own warning.
"There is no problem with acknowledging our history, but rolling out these performances before every sporting event or public gathering is definitely divisive," she told The Australian.
"It's not welcoming, it's telling non-Indigenous Australians 'this isn't your country' and that's wrong. We are all Australians and we share this great land."
Following Senator Price's comments, Mr Litteproud agreed there is a risk of diminishing significance with overuse.
The Nationals' leader told Sky News he believes there is a place for a Welcome to Country on "special occasions", but that "it's probably gone a little too far."
"There's an opportunity for it to be used wisely to get to the intent that it was created for, but when it's over used it loses its currency and I think that's where the conversation needs to be. But I think that's one that we can maturely have as a nation down the track."
Mr Littleproud said the issue at hand at present is the upcoming referendum on the Voice.
The Nationals became the first major party to officially oppose the proposal in December.
A formal coalition stance against the Voice was confirmed in May when Mr Dutton announced the Liberal Party's position in April.
On the matter of the regional voice model posited by the opposition leader, Mr Littleproud said he had concerns about their value outside of away from metropolitan Australia.
"It might work in suburbs in capital cities, but when you're talking about representative bodies in rural and remote Australia, you're talking about hundreds of thousands of square kilometres, hundreds of different diverse communities that have different challenges and needs," he told ABC Insiders on Sunday.
"I have a real concern about going back to regional models."
