Peter Dutton says cultural diversity jobs do nothing to help Australians

“I don’t believe that we should be spending $450,000 a term on Welcome to Country, when that isn’t actually improving the life of a marginalised Indigenous Australian,” she said.

Freedom of Information documents obtained by Coalition spokesman for government waste reduction spokesman James Stevens revealed agencies spent more than $450,000 over 2022-23 and 2023-24 financial years on Welcome to Country ceremonies.

The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet alone spent more than $41,000 on 33 Welcome to Country ceremonies.

“That kind of funding could be redirected to actually improve the lives of marginalised Indigenous Australians, as opposed to being used for what is effectively a welcoming ceremony, many of which have now become quite politicised,” Price said.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shut down questions about Price’s comments at a Melbourne press conference on Friday morning, saying he was focused on announcing cost-of-living support measures.

“What Australians are concerned about when I travel around the country isn’t looking for cultural wars and looking to divide. What they’re looking for is cost-of-living support,” he said.

Price’s government-efficiency role has drawn comparisons with US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s focus on cutting the size of the US government.

Price’s position drew comparisons with Musk after the tech billionaire was named the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. Price said she was surprised to be compared to Musk and disputed the Coalition was mimicking Trump’s government.

“I don’t have the same sort of bank account as Mr Musk has,” she said. “There was no sort of looking at what Trump was doing and going ‘well, how can we do that over here?’

“I think it’s come about because I’ve sought a more efficient way of spending dollars in the Indigenous portfolio, and I’ve said in the past that we should apply these sorts of measures across the board, to identify where waste exists in other portfolios.”

Price has previously flagged her frustration with Welcome to Country ceremonies, after she welcomed reports rugby league club Melbourne Storm were reviewing their policy on having ceremonies before every game.

“Have the Welcome to Country, but also allow people to think about when and how that’s best done. Let’s not crowd out the nuance, and importantly, let’s not lose sight of what we’re trying to achieve for Indigenous Australians,” Price wrote in an opinion piece for this masthead in December.

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