How much do Welcome to Country ceremonies cost? Are they indoctrinating our kids? Why should it be performed at Anzac Day? Let's find out

From Welcome to Country ceremonies costing $130,000 a pop to it being invented in 1976 by Ernie Dingo, we fact checked some of the claims made on social media about our recent story.

Following Tuesday’s story on the importance of Welcome to Country ceremonies there was significant feedback both for and against the cultural practice.

The post to Facebook has so far garnered 125 comments with readers giving their views.

We have fact checked some of the comments below.

“It was a made up thing by Ernie Dingo, why should it be pushed into every facet of daily life.”

The modern Welcome to Country ceremony was pioneered by television presenter and Yamatji man Ernie Dingo and Noongar/Yamatji musician Richard Walley in the summer of 1976, who performed at the Perth International Arts Festival with the Middar Aboriginal Theatre Company to welcome Maori and Cook Islander dancers.

While this was the first modern iteration of the practice, the history of Indigenous groups welcoming people to their country has dated back thousands of years. The welcome pays respect to ancestors, the spirits who created the lands and allows safe passage to all visitors. The welcome is a ceremony of inclusion for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

“It costs taxpayers $130,000 each time it’s performed.”

No, the Welcome to Country does not cost $130,000 each time it is performed. The ceremony typically ranges from $300-$750 while a smoking ceremony costs between $700-$1500. In many cases performers of the ceremony will have to travel great distances and the costs cover petrol, accommodation and food as well as the price to perform the welcome. The ceremony can also only be performed by recognised elders. Across the past three years the Australian government has dedicated $450,000 for Welcome to Country ceremonies, while King Charles’ six day visit in 2024 cost tax payers $640,060.47.

“It should be free like the Haka”

No, performances of the Haka are not free, a standard Haka performance typically starts at $500 while a more elaborate performance for bigger events can cost up to $16,000. In the 2024 Budget the New Zealand government allocated $48.7m over the next three years to grow and develop the Haka.

“Don’t try and welcome people to their own areas then, you don’t own it and you have no more claim to it than me.”

No, you are not being welcomed to your own country. To Indigenous people ‘country’ is more than just Australia the country, but rather an abstract concept. Country is a spiritual and cultural relationship, it includes land, water and sky and the idea of all of these forces of nature coming together. The origin of welcoming someone to your land was about sharing resources, sharing your environment and being protected, it is also a time for food and celebration.

“Why everyday in our schools are children made to apologise, this is indoctrination.”

No a Welcome to Country is not an apology. While both acknowledge Indigenous people and their connection to the land, a Welcome to Country is a formal ceremony to welcome and protect visitors while an apology is a formal expression of regret for past injustices.

The first Welcome to Country performed in parliament was however conducted the day before Kevin Rudd’s apology to Indigenous people in 2008. Furthermore students being educated on Indigenous history does not mean they are being blamed or guilted for the actions of previous generations anymore than German students learning about WWII are being blamed for the actions of the Nazi party.

“Seems he’s missing the point of Anzac Day. There can be just one day where the Indigenous don’t need to inject themselves into everything.”

More than 1000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people served in the World War I, and more than 4000 in the World War II. The first recorded cases of Aboriginal people serving in the military date back to the Boer War in the late 1800s.

Despite facing discrimination on the home front Indigenous people fought for their country. When they returned home they were not recognised for their service and denied access to benefits such as the Soldier Settlement Scheme aimed to give land and work to returning soldiers.

Indigenous people were not recognised as constitutional citizens until 1967, 22 years after the ending of World War II. Currently 3.7 per cent of the Australian Defence Force or 3159 members, identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. Furthermore almost every Anzac Day ceremony contains a religious element through prayers or scriptures, does the inclusion of these isolate non-religious attendees?