Coles’ Acknowledgement of Country on receipts labelled ‘unnecessary’ by Indigenous leaders

Indigenous leaders have hit out at Coles for an “unnecessary” move, which they’ve slammed as a “real overreach”.

Indigenous leaders have slammed Coles for using the Acknowledgment of Country on its shopping receipts.

It comes just days after Channel 9’s The Block made the decision to show an Acknowledgement of Country before the new season premiere on Sunday night.

On Channel 10 on Sunday, The Masked Singer host Osher Gunsberg also began the show with the acknowledgment.

A Coles receipt showing Acknowledgement of Country.

“Coles Group acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia. We recognise their strength and pay our respects to Elders, past, present and emerging,” the receipt said.

“Coles Group extends that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and recognise their rich cultures and consulting connection to land and waters,” it added.

Wurundjeri elder Ian Hunter told the Herald Sun Coles using the Acknowledgement of Country on its receipts was “unnecessary”.

“For it to have more meaning it would be better for Coles to localise the message on receipts for specific areas, for example Coles in Darebin could acknowledge the Woiwurrung people,” he said.

“The Acknowledgement of Country shouldn’t be taken lightly … I’m getting fed up with this, it’s a real overreach.”

Institute of Public Affairs Foundations of Western Civilisation Program director Dr Bella d’Abrera said Coles needed to remember that it was a supermarket.

“Customers are far more worried about the ever-increasing prices of basic goods they need to feed their families, rather than corporate virtue signalling,” Dr d’Abrera said.

“Putting a welcome to country on something as mundane as a shopping receipt does nothing other than undermine any value of such a statement.”

Wurundjeri elder Ian Hunter told the Herald Sun Coles using the Acknowledgement of Country on its receipts was ‘unnecessary’.

A Coles spokeswoman said: “With more than 2500 stores nationally and as one of Australia’s largest employers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Coles Group is proud to include an Acknowledgement of Country on our receipts”.

“We work hard to create opportunities for Indigenous peoples, organisations, communities and customers to engage with our business and continue to increase understanding, value and recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, histories, knowledge and rights,” she said.

.@Coles sticking an Acknowledgment of Country & recognising Aboriginal Australians on its shopping receipts is cringeworthy & says so much about the woke madness infecting corporate Australia.What will this do to improve the serious issues facing indigenous communities? Nothing. https://t.co/SmrGiOX0R8

— Tim Smith MP (@TimSmithMP) August 10, 2022

Victorian Liberal MP Tim Smith said on Twitter: “Sticking an Acknowledgement of Country and recognising Aboriginal Australians on its shopping receipts is cringeworthy.”

“It says so much about the woke madness infecting corporate Australia. What will this do to improve the serious issues facing indigenous communities? Nothing,” he said.

Earlier this week, some viewers were positive for Channel 10’s Acknowledgment of Country, with Karlie Noon, the first Indigenous woman to graduate with a double degree in maths and physics, tweeting: “Awesome acknowledgement of country from @oshergunsberg on #themaskedsinger was actually so good #alwayswas.”