‘Value for Money’: Labor Defends Spending Nearly $500,000 on ‘Welcome to Country’ Ceremonies

FOI records obtained by James Stevens reveal government agencies spent $452,953 on Welcome to Country ceremonies in the 2022-2024 financial years.

An indigenous Australian during the round three NRL match between Newcastle Knights and Melbourne Storm at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, Australia on March 24, 2024. Scott Gardiner/Getty Images

The Albanese Labor government has defended its spending on Aboriginal “Welcome to Country” ceremonies, dismissing the federal opposition’s criticism as an attempt to stoke a “culture war.”

The comments come after the release of new data showing the government has spent nearly half a million dollars on the ceremonies over the past two years.

“Welcome to Country” ceremonies are performed by an Indigenous group at the beginning of a formal event and can take the form of singing, dancing, smoking ceremonies, or speeches.

The performance, along with “Acknowledgement to Country,” have attracted scrutiny for their growing prevalence across a range of events in Australian political, sporting, and business circles.

When contacted, the prime minister’s office directed The Epoch Times earlier comments by Mark Butler, the minister for health.

“The opposition is more interested in fighting culture wars than joining us in the war on inflation and helping Australian households with the cost-of-living pressures that they’ve been struggling with, like households across the world.“

FOI Records Reveal the Extent of the Costs

The newly released Freedom of Information (FOI) records, obtained by shadow government waste reduction spokesman, James Stevens, revealed government agencies spent $452,953 on Welcome to Country ceremonies during the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 financial years.

The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet alone allocated $41,801 for 33 such ceremonies.

With each ceremony costing an average of $1,266 and lasting approximately 5 to 15 minutes, the cost amounts to about $100 per minute for an Aboriginal representative.

While these ceremonies have become a regular feature at official events, Stevens criticised the government’s spending as excessive.

“While there is a place for traditional Welcome to Country ceremonies, taxpayers should not be forking out half a million dollars for them,” he said.

Stevens pointed out that, when combined with the significant spending by state and local governments, the total cost of these ceremonies is quickly approaching a multimillion-dollar industry.

“Welcomes to Country should be genuine and authentic, not a lucrative income stream at the taxpayers’ expense,” he added.

“Spending millions on ‘Welcome’ ceremonies does nothing to address the challenges facing Indigenous Australians. This money could be better spent on delivering real solutions to indigenous communities.”

Butler Defends Spending as Value for Money

In response, Minister Butler defended the spending, arguing that departments are required to ensure value for money in all aspects of their operations.

“We expect departments to ensure that they’re getting value for money for this and many other elements of the events that they hold across the country as part of their role as the public service,” he stated.

Butler also clarified that the practice of holding Welcome to Country ceremonies has been long-standing, pointing out that it was a standard practice under the former Liberal-National Coalition government.

“Nothing has changed over a number of years now, including the practice that was commonly in place under the former government,” he said.

Aboriginal Group Votes Against Performing Ceremony in Future

Amidst these claims, a Queensland Aboriginal group, the Juru people, recently voted against performing the ceremony in future, citing concerns over its commercialisation.

“When I look at it from a cultural perspective, there is a social obligation to make sure people are safe on your country,” said Juru elder Randall Ross.

“What I can see today is Welcome to Country has become a business supporting some individuals, losing the cultural meaning,” Ross told 4BC radio.

The decision, passed on Dec. 5, stems from concerns that many ceremonies are conducted by those with no link to the land.

“Many of the elders have seen people doing Welcome to Countries in the Burdekin who aren’t even connected to the area,” Ross explained.

Push for Government to Cut Spending

Meanwhile, the criticism comes as Labor faces ongoing scrutiny regarding government spending.

The Business Council of Australia (BCA) has called for urgent cuts in taxpayer-backed expenditure, urging a more efficient budget management approach to curb inflation.

BCA Chief Executive Bran Black warned that without tighter control, current trends could worsen the cost-of-living crisis.

This view is echoed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which, in its October 2024 report, advised Australia to be less generous with its government spending, warning that short-term handouts to households would likely fuel inflation.

At the same time, hopes that a stronger economy could help the government reel in its spending growth were dashed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which reported a disappointing 0.3 percent growth in the economy for the September quarter

This was below the expected 0.5 percent.

Annual growth also slowed to 0.8 percent, down from 1 percent in June, signalling a weakening economic outlook.