Traditional owners who perform a welcome to country in Broken Hill will no longer be paid for their time, after a snap decision made by the council in National Reconciliation Week that Wilyakali Aboriginal Corporation said caused “distress, deflation and trauma”.
The motion was put forward by Broken Hill’s mayor, Tom Kennedy, at a meeting in the last week of May and supported eight votes to two. Kennedy defended the decision on ABC local radio, saying “why do we need to be welcomed to our own land?”
The Wilyakali Aboriginal Corporation, whose members perform most of the welcome to country services within Broken Hill city council, said the timing of the decision made it particularly distressing.
“The reconciliation week theme ‘Be a Voice for Generations’ was ruined by the behaviour of council,” it said in a statement.
“There has been no evidence of mutual respect, instead a disrespectful display of ignorance which has threatened to set community relationships with the council back many years.”
The corporation said it was concerned the decision could lead to “hateful dialogue”, and also criticised the council for failing to consult with traditional owners about the change.
Kennedy told the council meeting that traditional owners would still be invited to perform welcome to country but at no financial cost to the council. It had previously paid between $150 and $250 for traditional owners to perform a welcome to country and $300 for a smoking ceremony.
Those rates were already well below those recommended by the National Association for the Visual Arts, which suggests $300-$750 for a welcome to country and up to $1,500 for a smoking ceremony.
Two councillors who voted against the change to the council’s civil and ceremonial functions policy – Darriea Turley and Marion Browne – recommended conducting 28 days of community consultation first but Kennedy dismissed that concern, saying removing the fee for service was a “cosmetic change” to the policy. Kennedy argued that a welcome to country lost its value if it was being paid for.
The Wilyakali Aboriginal Corporation said council should not be the group deciding what value to put on their culture and services.
“Our welcome to country is performed at any ceremony which welcomes other tribes and or groups of people on Wilyakali traditional custodians’ lands,” WAC said. “When others are welcomed onto traditional lands, each other’s tribe would give a gift.”
Reconciliation Australia criticised the decision, telling Guardian Australia that it was “ill-advised and contrary to the spirit of reconciliation”.
“We are also concerned that it appears to have been undertaken without consultation with Aboriginal stakeholders,” it said.
“The timing of the decision, during National Reconciliation Week, a week set aside for Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia, seems to be unnecessarily provocative.”
Traditional owners also told Guardian Australia they were distressed by racist comments made by others on Kennedy’s Facebook page, where he announced the decision to the public.
Welcome to country ceremonies hold significant cultural importance within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, serving as a way to show respect for traditional owners and build relationships.
“The ceremony is entirely inclusive; a generous gesture on behalf of Aboriginal people to welcome other people to their traditional homelands,” Reconciliation Australia said.
It said just as organisations pay for other services, payments are made to “compensate Elders for their time and their intellectual property in delivering the welcome to country”.
The Wilyakali Aboriginal Corporation has offered to provide cultural awareness training to Broken Hill city council and requested the council retract the decision.
The council’s first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) expired last year and it is in the process of developing a new RAP, which will have to be ratified by Reconciliation Australia.
Reconciliation Australia said it would “sincerely urge Broken Hill City council to reconsider their decision considering community feedback and urge them to reverse this policy”.
Kennedy is expected to meet with the council’s Aboriginal Working party this month.
