Peta Credlin slams ‘lazy journalists’ trying to discredit $40 billion Indigenous spending claim

Sky News host Peta Credlin has slammed “lies and misinformation” pushed by “lazy journalists” who are trying to discredit her claim that nearly $40 billion is spent on Indigenous people every year. Ms Credlin came under fire from Crikey for defending singer Kamahl’s comments on The Project, where he claimed Australia spends about $40 billion every year on Indigenous people. She pointed to the Productivity Commission’s 2017 Indigenous Expenditure Report, which states the total direct government expenditure on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians was estimated to be $33.4 billion in 2015-16. The Sky News host also highlighted specific Indigenous programmes run by state and federal government. “Indeed, the latest Productivity Commission report – this one’s a draft report issued in July this year, 2023 – also refers to 'tens of billions of dollars of expenditure every year’,” she said. “So enough with the lies, enough of the misinformation and disinformation from the Yes Camp and lazy journalists. “This is the federal government's own Productivity Commission – now don’t verbal me, don't try and pretend I don't know how to read a Commonwealth report or a budget paper. “It's patronising beyond belief, and you'll get caught out.”