Australia’s biggest celebration of Indigenous culture is charging up to $5,000 per person for the four-day event.
Tickets for the Garma festival on East Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory start at $1,650 for school students and reach $5,000 for a corporate pass.
Garma is an annual festival held on sacred Gumatj Bunggul ground in Gulkula every year in August.
This year the festival will run from Friday, August 4, to Monday, August 7.
The site marks the place Yolngu ancestor Ganbulapula would search for honey with a staff that contained the life force of Garrtjambal, the creator spirit who took the form of a great red kangaroo.
Tickets for Australia’s biggest celebration of Indigenous culture, the Garma Festival, start at $1,650 for school students and reach $5,000 for a corporate pass (pictured, Gumatj dancers at Garma)
Garma is an annual festival is held on sacred Gumatj Bunggul ground in Gulkula every year in August (pictured, Gumatj dancers at Garma)
Attendance at Garma has jumped 25 per cent since 2015.
Festival caterer Sodexo estimated its 55-strong team will serve 26,400 meals over the four days, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Most attendees will be Yolngu with about 1,000 guests travelling from elsewhere.
However, the steep price of tickets to Garma make it an exclusive event.
Primary and high school age students are charged $1,650 for a four-day pass while tickets for TAFE and university students over 18 cost $1,850.
An adult pass will set an attendee back $2,750 and corporate passes cost as much as $5,000 a head.
Children under the age of five are given free entry.
In June the federal government announced it would donate $775,000 towards Garma Festival – which generates between $10million and $15million for the Northern Territory economy each year.
Garma is hosted by the Yothu Yindi Foundation and first began as a barbecue in 1999.
Since then, the festival has evolved into a political stage for Indigenous issues and its three-day forum agenda changes every year to reflect a theme.
A hot topic at Garma this year will be the Voice to Parliament with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right) attending alongside other Yes campaigners
Opposition leader Peter Dutton declined at invitation to Garma on the grounds the event will be a ‘love-in’ for the Yes campaign (pictured, Bunggul traditional dancers at Garma)
This year’s theme is djambatj, meaning ‘a perfect moment in time when the balance of our world is in order’.
While land rights, education, government funding and health are common topics at Garma, this year’s hot talking point will be the Voice to parliament.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is attending Garma this year alongside Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health and Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy and Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour.
The date of the Voice referendum will not be announced at Garma but Mr Albanese did use the event last year to reveal the wording of the proposed voting question.
In his headline festival speech on Saturday, Mr Albanese confirmed the government would proceed with the referendum and urged Australians who will vote ‘Yes’ to encourage others to do so.
‘The form of constitutional recognition they are asking for is a Voice, not our sympathy, not a symbol, but a vehicle for progress,’ he told the festival attendees.
‘A practical tool to make their children’s lives better. Not just something that will feel good, something that will do good, that will make a positive difference.
‘Australian people should be equally clear of what voting no means.
It is more of the same. Not only rejecting the opportunity to do better, but accepting that what we have is somehow good enough.’
Opposition leader Peter Dutton declined an invitation to the festival on the grounds the event will be a ‘love-in’ for the Yes campaign.
Earlier this week, Mr Albanese called for Mr Dutton to attend while on the ABC radio’s RN Breakfast.
‘I just say to Peter Dutton, he needs to get out of his dirt unit on these issues and go to [the] red dirt of Arnhem Land this weekend, go to Garma, which is the most significant Indigenous cultural event that occurs in this country,’ he said.
Mr Dutton responded on Sydney’s 2GB on Thursday: ‘Garma is a celebration and a good thing, but it will be largely occupied by the CEOs and … others from publicly listed companies and all of those who have been out there funding the Yes campaign.
Attendance at Garma has jumped 25 per cent since 2015 (pictured, Red Flag dancers at Garma)
‘It will be a love-in for the Yes advocates and proponents.
‘I’m not going up there to pretend I’m somebody that I’m not.’
No campaigners, shadow spokesperson for Indigenous Australians Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Senator Kerrynne Liddle were also invited to Garma.
Administration for the Garma Festival was contacted for comment on its ticket prices by Daily Mail Australia.
