Former Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, has defended Welcomes to Country, delivering a defence of the practice that has faced criticism from conservatives and Coalition politicians.

The culture war criticism of Welcome to Country ceremonies led to the booing of an Elder at an Anzac Day dawn service on Friday, while Peter Dutton used the leaders' debate on Sunday to argue the traditional acknowledgment was "overdone" and should only be used for ceremonial and important events.

In delivering a welcome at a gathering of Labor faithful in Parramatta over the weekend, Ms Burney, the first Aboriginal woman in the House of Representatives who is stepping down from parliament after announcing her retirement last year, noted the ceremony was more than just a welcome; it was an acknowledgment of the "continuing struggle for equality and a long history of dispossession".

"Understanding our history and geography is an intrinsic part of the telling of the story and ­finding the truth," the Wiradjuri woman said.

While Labor has shut down talks for an advancement of truth-telling and Treaty, much to the chagrin of Indigenous groups, Ms Burney said Parramatta and the Western Suburbs of Sydney were an "important part of the story of our nation".

She encouraged conversations to continue - even if they are painful - to avoid mistakes that "must never be repeated".

"Families and communities were separated, scarred with trauma that has (carried on) for generations, and we see the scars," she said.

Whilst conservatives have pushed back on Welcome to Country, attempting to link it, without evidence, to fostering division, Ms Burney said they are "not just about pain", but rather, "remembering triumphal survival and culture".

In March, she told National Indigenous Times the Aboriginal affairs portfolio under a Coalition federal government will be "disastrous", pointing to Mr Dutton's plan to not stand in front of the Indigenous flag - something he repeated over the weekend.

"I see the dismantling of Aboriginal organisations," she said. "I see savage cuts to budgets".

On Friday night, Wurundjeri Elder Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin was aghast after the Melbourne Storm cancelled a Welcome to Country at an NRL game she was scheduled to perform at the last minute.

The controversy came after hecklers - allegedly led by a reputed neo-Nazi - shouted over Bunurong Elder Uncle Mark Brown at the city's Shrine of Remembrance whilst he delivered a welcome.

Writing in The Age at the weekend, Wiradjuri woman and Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne, Jessa Rogers, said a Welcome to Country "does not take anything away from Australia or Australians".

"To mock or reject a Welcome to Country is to deny the enduring sovereignty of Aboriginal peoples and the profound connection we hold to our Country," she said.

"It is to misunderstand what is being offered: a generous gesture of cultural welcoming."

Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has been vocal in her criticism of the practice, recently telling Sky News "everyone's getting sick of Welcome to Country".

"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," she said.

Speaking on Sunday night, Mr Dutton said the Welcome to Country should be reserved for important events, claiming they were dividing the country in the same way the Voice referendum did.

"I think there is, and people have said this to me as we've moved across the country, there is a sense across the community that it's [Welcome to Country] overdone," he told the 7News debate.

On Monday, the Opposition leader, who has said he will not stand in front of Indigenous flags, told reporters ANZAC Day was not 'significant' enough of an event to host a Welcome to Country, arguing it should be focussing on veterans.

"I think the majority view would be that they don't want it on that day," Mr Dutton said.

More than 5,000 Indigenous Australians served across the First and Second World Wars while not being considered citizens in the constitution at the time.