Welcome To Country meeting postponed

Published on 09 June 2023

Council has been forced to postpone a meeting with the Aboriginal Community Working Party regarding Welcome To Country fees after further issues were raised by the Wilyakali Aboriginal Corporation.

The meeting had been scheduled to take place today, however the Wilyakali group yesterday released a statement making a series of allegations against Mayor Tom Kennedy and Councillors, and requested that the Mayor be investigated for a Code of Conduct breach. 

Mayor Kennedy said it was unfortunate that the group had chosen to escalate the matter the day before discussions were to be held to find a compromise.

"I'd had a lot of good conversations with members of the Aboriginal community and we were absolutely ready to meet in good faith and find a way forward, but this move by the Wilyakali group has obviously complicated things," said Mayor Kennedy.

"It's very difficult to hold an open and productive meeting when two parties are going to be involved in a Code Of Conduct matter, so we'll have to postpone for now and see if we can find a way forward by some other means as soon as possible."

Mayor Kennedy said the practice of direct Council payment for Welcome To Country ceremonies remained an issue of concern, but conceded the matter could have been better explained from the outset.

"With the benefit of hindsight, I think all parties should have been more transparent around Welcome To Country processes and payment, and we certainly take responsibility for our part in that," he said.

"A lot of community members and even Councillors were a bit shocked when they found out that Welcome To Country was actually a paid service and not just a gesture of goodwill.

"And I think people didn't know because it has previously been done in a pretty ad-hoc manner; staff would often be unsure who was delivering the Welcome, there'd be cash-in-hand payments, and in some instances Council was receiving invoices for payment when there was no Welcome even given.

"It's all been a bit too informal considering ratepayer money is changing hands, and it's something we definitely need to look at."

Although today's meeting was postponed, Mayor Kennedy said he believed Council could still offer financial support for the Aboriginal community for Welcome To Country, albeit under a different model.

"The current system is very transactional, it's effectively a fee for service - we're paying individuals to deliver the Welcome as if they're Council contractors," he said.

"I'd like to see Council take the money it spends each year on Welcome To Country fees and donate it to the Aboriginal Community Working Party.

"That body could then use that money to benefit the broader Aboriginal community as they see fit, be it through community programs, buying school or sporting equipment for Aboriginal kids, or providing remuneration for members of their community who perform Welcome To Country."