The far-right hecklers who disrupted the Welcome to Country ceremonies at Friday morning’s Anzac Day services in Melbourne and Perth were quickly condemned as fringe actors.

But what they shouted – “We don’t need to be welcomed,” according to reports – has become a common refrain. It is repeated with rising frequency in conservative debates about Welcomes to Country on social media, in Sky News segments and even the Senate.

Police lead away white supremacist Jacob Hersant, who heckled the Welcome to Country at the dawn service at Melbourne’s Shrine of Rememberance.Credit: Getty Images

The Coalition stoked this debate earlier this year, when it brought the phrase into mainstream politics by pledging to wind back spending on Welcomes to Country if it formed government.

“Welcomes to Country should be reserved for rare occasions, especially when the taxpayer........

© The Age