A fiery exchange between The Project star Hamish Macdonald and beloved entertainer Kamahl has shone a fresh light on the billions of dollars spent on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people each year.
A central argument of many opponents of the Voice to Parliament is that a huge amount of money goes to Indigenous programs already, hinting at wastage that might only get worse.
That argument contributed to Kamahl changing his voting intentions for a third time, now planning to vote No at the referendum.
In his interview with The Project about his flip-flopping views, Kamahl repeatedly claimed the government spends $40 billion a year on Indigenous Australians.
It saw him butt heads with Macdonald, who asked where he was “getting that figure from”, saying it was incorrect, to which the iconic singer insisted “somebody told me”.
“All I know is that they’re spending $40 billion,” he repeated. “What is the money going to?”
Macdonald shot back: “That’s been fact checked as false. The government agency says it’s never administered funding of $30 billion a year on Indigenous programs, its total budget for 2022-23 was $4.5 billion.”
The next day in an interview with news.com.au, a furious Kamahl lashed...
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