Insane amount First Nations ambassador is making a year – after his extraordinary travel budget was revealed

The first First Nations ambassador to Australia will be paid a whopping $326,000 a year, on top of a whopping $358,000 budget for international travel.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong and former Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney appointed Justin Mohamed, a Gooreng Gooreng man from Bundaberg in Queensland, to the world’s first ambassadorial role in March 2023.

The Albanian government said the unelected position would ensure that for the first time Australia has dedicated Indigenous representation in our international engagement.

Since the staggering travel budget was made public on Monday, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has said he wants to abolish the position, calling it a “waste of money.”

Mr Mohamed oversees the Office for First Nations International Engagement, which was established in December under the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) with a budget of $13.6 million over four years.

DFAT officials were asked by Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians Jacinta Nampijinpa Price at a Senate hearing on 3 June what Mr Mohamed’s annual salary was for the role.

The officials confirmed he was “employed at SES band level 2,” referring to a Senior Executive Service level earning between $240,000 and $326,000 a year, according to DFAT’s 2022-23 annual report, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Ms Nampijinpa Price asked for the exact amount, but the question was taken seriously and appears to have remained unanswered as officials could not immediately provide the exact salary package.

Mr Dutton told 2GB he would abolish the position if he were re-elected at the next election.

“That money is being spent to help Australians who are currently struggling to keep a roof over their head or pay their electricity bills,” he said.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who is currently in New York, responded by saying Dutton was undermining Australia on the world stage.

“It is disappointing that Mr Dutton sees no role for Indigenous Australians in representing Australia,” she said.

“We see his character on display again. He divides us at home, and frankly, he diminishes us in the world.”

Mr. Mohamed spent about $145,000 on business class flights and hundreds of dollars each time on private transportation to and from his sprawling estate, all paid for by taxpayers.

Originally his role was to ‘engage regional partners in the Voice, Treaty, Truth process’, but that part of his role became irrelevant when Australia voted ‘no’ to the Voice referendum in October.

Instead, the Albanian government gave Mr. Mohamed a travel budget of $358,000 to fly business class with a colleague or two around the world to represent First Nations views at bilateral forums and conferences.

Nearly 180 pages of expense reports released by Senator Wong’s office under the Freedom of Information Act and obtained by Daily Mail Australia reveal that Mr Mohamed made nine overseas trips in the 2023-24 fiscal year.

He traveled to New York, Hawaii, San Francisco, Geneva, Dubai, Paris and major cities in Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea – costing a combined $283,000. A two-week trip to Kansas City and Washington DC alone cost $75,022.

The few domestic trips were mostly return business class flights from his sprawling five-bedroom mansion in Gisborne, on the outskirts of Melbourne, to Canberra. The documents do not detail excursions to remote Indigenous communities.

Opposition Indigenous Australians Party spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price told Daily Mail Australia there was a stark contrast between Mohamed’s travel budget and the experiences of ordinary Indigenous people.

“There is a huge gap between the money the First Nations Ambassador spends on travel and the lives of our most marginalised Australians,” she said.

‘If these taxpayer-funded trips are truly justified, then Anthony Albanese needs to be clear about the outcomes they achieve and how they improve the lives of our marginalised groups.

‘As a result of the questions I asked the government during the budget debate earlier this year, I continue to have doubts about the practical benefits the Ambassador brings to the lives of Indigenous Australians.

She said the coalition would abolish Mr Mohamed’s position if he was elected to the government in 2025.

“We must prioritise investment in improving the lives of Indigenous Australians here at home, before we spend these significant amounts of money on a position that Indigenous Australians don’t even have a say in.”

The documents show that Mr Mohamed typically travelled with at least one colleague, whose expenses were included in the overall budget.

The documentation listed the reasons behind each trip, which ranged from “representing First Nations perspectives on climate change” to “participating in ministerial dialogues on trade with Indigenous peoples.”

All expenditure was approved by Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) officials, including $30,000 for hotels in all nine international destinations, $13,000 for food and taxi rides and $102,000 for business class flights.

Mr Mohamed often sent proof of ground transportation after each trip, including multiple $200 bills for a return private transfer from his home in Gisborne to Melbourne Airport.

DFAT reimbursed Mr Mohamed approximately $150 for three separate charges with private limousine companies in Dubai.

The documents contain no information after June 30. Since then, Mr Mohamed has traveled to the Solomon Islands and Fiji.

Warren Mundine, former national president of the Australian Labor Party, told Daily Mail Australia that Mr Mohamed’s role was unclear and called for more “hands-on” roles to help local Indigenous businesses.

“I don’t quite understand what the job entails, what does it do?” he said.

‘Originally he was going to talk about The Voice, but that would have sent a clear message that the Australian people don’t need that kind of stance.’

‘We need practical things that happen in Australia and business development that can help indigenous businesses go international, not someone who travels around to attend meetings.’

Daily Mail Australia contacted Mr Mohamed for comment but he referred all questions to DFAT.

A spokesperson for Senator Wong said the ambassador and his team were “delivering results for all Australians, including our First Nations communities”. However, he did not provide further explanation despite being asked.

“Ambassador Mohamed helped to increase indigenous access to the Human Rights Council. He played a key role in securing a landmark treaty that secured formal legal recognition of First Nations genetic resources and traditional knowledge. He also boosted First Nations trade,” the authors said.

‘First Nations diplomacy is a powerful part of our engagement with the Pacific, given the strong cultural and historical ties First Nations have to our region.

“It’s one of the ways we’re repairing our relationship with the Pacific family after nine years of Mr Dutton and the Liberals disrespecting Pacific leaders and neglecting Pacific priorities, leaving a vacuum that other countries need to fill.”

Prior to becoming Ambassador, Mr Mohamed was Deputy Secretary for Aboriginal Justice at the Victorian Government’s Department of Justice and Community Safety between 2021 and 2023.

He was also Victoria’s Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People between 2018 and 2021. Prior to that, he was CEO of Equity Health Solutions until 2018 and CEO of Reconciliation Australia between 2014 and 2017.

In 2021, he and his wife Janine bought their five-acre estate near Mount Macedon, northwest of Melbourne, for $2.4 million.