Part 7/11:
Prime Minister Albanese described a Welcome to Country as an act of "profound love of home and country," symbolically extending a hand of warmth and inclusion. Yet, the speaker critiques this framing, suggesting that such gestures have, in many cases, become rote, bureaucratic duties rather than genuine expressions of respect. The metaphor of a hand "warmly extended" resonates with the idea of a diplomatic gesture that can also feel like a social obligation—sometimes more about moral optics than authentic sentiment.