Senator condemns beer-branded Welcome to Country

Liberal Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has condemned a Welcome to Country ceremony that featured beer company branding, saying such events have become empty gestures while vulnerable Indigenous children remain at risk.

Footage shared last week by comedian Blake Pavey from the Sydney Comedy Festival showed a Welcome to Country that included sponsorship branding from beer company Young Henrys. Speaking to Ben Fordham on Sydney’s 2GB on Friday, Senator Price criticised the frequency and presentation of acknowledgements and welcomes.

Key Points

She argued the practice has become routine and detached from genuine intent. In her interview, she questioned whether sponsorship branding aligned with respect for Indigenous cultures and said the ceremonies were failing to deliver practical benefits.

“It’s all getting out of bloody hand in the first place,” she said.

Senator Price said the current approach reduces meaningful recognition to “throwaway lines” and urged that Australia move beyond such gestures. She linked the sponsorship issue to broader concerns about the impact of alcohol in many Aboriginal communities.

Alcohol harm concerns

The Senator highlighted what she described as the irony of pairing Indigenous acknowledgements with an alcohol sponsor, given the longstanding harm alcohol abuse has caused in many Aboriginal communities. She said that if people cared about Aboriginal people, they should focus on practical support rather than activities that could encourage alcohol consumption. According to Price, alcohol disproportionately affects Indigenous Australians negatively.

Grief and call to prioritise child safety

Senator Price’s comments came during a period of personal grief. The Northern Territory Senator is mourning her five-year-old niece, Kumanjayi Little Baby, whose body was found in Alice Springs in April.

In a speech to Parliament last week, Senator Price accused politicians and activists of overlooking a crisis affecting vulnerable Aboriginal children while focusing on symbolism and slogans. She said multiple formal warnings about her niece’s safety were not acted on, and that this failure should shock the country and the world.

“For too long in this country, there has been silence around what is happening in too many town camps and remote communities – a silence driven by fear, a fear of causing offence, a fear of being labelled racist, fear of speaking honestly about dysfunction, violence, alcohol abuse, neglect and conditions,” she said.