The Liberal Party is the biggest donor to a right wing lobby group behind a campaign against Welcome to Country ceremonies, which has ramped up in the final days of the federal election campaign.
The Cormack Foundation - a multimillion dollar investment company for the Liberal Party - donated $500,000 in the past financial year to online group Advance, which is running a campaign against government spending on Welcome to Country ceremonies, which cost roughly $150,000 per year.
Earlier this month, Advance sent an email to subscribers containing disinformation about Welcome to Country ceremonies, describing them incorrectly as telling Australians that "this isn't your country anymore" and complaining that they cost "big sums of money".
Advance was formed in 2018 (then known as Advance Australia), in the wake of the successful marriage equality plebiscite and was front and centre in the 'no' campaign in the referendum on the First Nations Voice to Parliament.
And while the lobby group frequently rails against the "woke" agenda of "elites", it has previously been outed as 'astroturfing' - a deceptive practice of misrepresenting a marketing campaign as being from grassroots.
The Australian Electoral Commission reports that Advance has declared $15,676,823 over the 2023-24 financial year.
Welcome to Country ceremonies have become a political football during the past week after neo nazis interrupted a service, calling out 'Australia for the white man' during Bunurong Elder Mark Brown's call for respect and unity.
, due to have been delivered by Wurundjeri Elder Joy Murphy Wandin, whose father fought for Australia in World War I.
Melbourne Storm co-founder and director Brett Ralph's company JMR Management Consultancy Services also donated $50,000 to Advance in the 2023-24 financial year, according to the .
The Storm has since released a statement blaming a 'miscommunication' for the cancellation.
While the crowd at the Anzac Day service quickly shut down the racist jeers - which were also condemned by the RSL - the neo nazi action has been widely commented on by politicians.
In the final leaders debate on Sunday night Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Welcome to Country was a mark of respect.
"People are entitled to their views, but we have the great privilege of sharing this continent with the oldest continuous culture on earth," he said.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians Jacinta Nampijinpa Price have both said Welcome to Country ceremonies are "overdone" and have previously pledged to defund them should the Coalition be elected on Saturday.
Mr Dutton illustrated his argument by pointing to Qantas' Acknowledgement of Country, which many First Nations organisations were quick to respond is not the same as a Welcome to Country.
On ABC TV's Q&A program on Monday, Greens Leader Adam Bandt described Mr Dutton's political opportunism as "gutter politics" that was "punching down".
Alyawarre woman Pat Anderson, co-chair of the Uluru Dialogue, pointed out that a Welcome to Country is not about welcoming people to Australia, but rather is about welcoming people to a particular First Nation's cultures, lands and seas.
"Again, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are used as a political football in an outdated and tired match," she said.
"It is not up to politicians to regulate when and how a Welcome to Country should happen."
Ms Anderson expressed her sadness over the displays of disrespect on the Anzac weekend.
"A Welcome to Country is an ancient act of generosity and peace," she said.
The Liberal Party has been contacted for comment.
