Premier Jacinta Allan’s growing calendar of taxpayer-funded multicultural and multifaith dinners has become a flashpoint in Victorian politics, with the Opposition accusing Labor of turning community celebrations into government-controlled political events.
The row has intensified ahead of Wednesday night’s inaugural Victorian Christian Communities Dinner at Centrepiece in Melbourne, where about 2,000 guests from ethnically diverse Christian communities are expected to gather.
The dinner is one of several large-scale faith and cultural events being held in an election year, alongside government-backed or Premier-linked celebrations for Diwali, Ramadan, Lunar New Year, Vesak and other multicultural communities.
The Victorian Government says the events celebrate diversity, social cohesion and the contribution of multicultural communities to the state. But Opposition figures argue the format, guest lists and speaking arrangements give Labor a built-in political advantage at public expense.
Opposition Leader Jess Wilson declined to attend the Christian Communities Dinner after being told she would not be given an opportunity to address the room. The event is hosted through the Department of Premier and Cabinet, but speaking roles were determined through the Premier’s private Office.
Wilson was reportedly invited to participate by appearing on stage during a candle-lighting component, while Premier Jacinta Allan and a minister were scheduled to deliver formal remarks.
Opposition spokesman for multicultural and multifaith affairs Evan Mulholland described the arrangement as “blatantly political”, arguing the government was using taxpayer-funded events to control access to key community audiences.
“It is blatantly political to be doing this in an election year,” he told The Australia Today.
“They are hosting more of these events this year than in previous years at a cost of over $1 million. It is a baked-in electoral advantage using taxpayer money.”
The criticism follows earlier Opposition claims that the Premier’s Multicultural Gala Dinner and Diwali State Reception were heavily weighted towards Labor MPs, staff and guests.
A Liberal Party statement published in March claimed the 2025 Premier’s Multicultural Gala Dinner cost taxpayers $438,000, with ticket allocations for Labor MPs, staff and guests increasing to 190 seats out of 1,200 after the Premier’s Private Office became involved. It also alleged the Opposition received only one table. The same statement claimed the Premier’s Diwali State Reception cost $381,000 and was attended by dozens of Labor MPs, while only one Opposition MP was present.
The Victorian Multicultural Commission describes the Premier’s Multicultural Gala Dinner as a celebration where people from across Victoria come together to recognise the state’s multicultural communities. Its official page says the 2025 dinner, themed “Harmony in Diversity”, was hosted by Premier Jacinta Allan, Multicultural Affairs Minister Ingrid Stitt and VMC chair Vivienne Nguyen, and included a three-course meal, cultural performances, speeches and networking.
Government MPs have also used Parliament to highlight participation in Premier-linked faith events. In October, St Albans MP Natalie Suleyman told Parliament she had attended Diwali celebrations, including the Premier’s state reception, while Greenvale MP Iwan Walters said organisations from Melbourne’s north were welcomed to the Premier’s Diwali state reception.
The Premier’s iftar dinner has similarly been referenced in Parliament, with MPs speaking about Ramadan events and community participation. Parliamentary records from March include references to young leaders from Wyndham attending the Premier’s iftar dinner and broader iftar events attended by government MPs.
The election-year expansion has also included Lunar New Year celebrations, with Allan publicly marking the Year of the Fire Horse and attending community celebrations. Social media posts from the Premier and Victorian community organisations show Labor figures using Lunar New Year events as part of a broader multicultural engagement push.
A Vesak dinner for Buddhist communities is also part of the broader 2026 calendar. The Victorian United Nations Day of Vesak was held on 16 May 2026, with organisers describing it as the culmination of a “vibrant and diverse Victorian Buddhist Community”.
The Opposition says the issue is not whether governments should support multicultural and multifaith communities, but whether publicly funded events are being used to give the Premier and Labor MPs privileged access to targeted communities while limiting the visibility of non-government MPs.
Mulholland said such events should demonstrate bipartisan respect.
“The real shame is that these events should be an opportunity to publicly demonstrate bipartisan support for our multicultural and multifaith communities,” he said.
“Unfortunately, it is not politically convenient for an unpopular premier to showcase that bipartisan support.”
The Allan Government has rejected suggestions that the events are Labor Party functions. In Parliament, Multicultural Affairs Minister Ingrid Stitt denied accusations that taxpayer-funded dinners were being stacked with government MPs, saying they were celebrations of Victoria’s diversity.
“That’s nonsense,” Stitt said.
“They’re celebrations of our diversity as a state, which we take very seriously.”
Stitt said invitation lists were managed through ordinary departmental processes and that Opposition MPs and the Opposition Leader were customarily invited as guests.
But the dispute has revived a broader debate over the role of multicultural events in Victorian politics.
Faith and cultural celebrations have long been used by state governments to signal respect for communities and recognise their contribution. However, in marginal seats across Melbourne’s north, west and south-east, communities attending these events often overlap with key electoral constituencies.
Christian communities such as Assyrians, Chaldeans, Orthodox Serbs and other migrant-background congregations are concentrated in electorates where Labor is seeking to hold ground. Hindu, Sikh and Indian-origin communities are significant across Melbourne’s west, north and south-east. Muslim communities remain highly organised in growth corridors, while Chinese and Buddhist communities are influential in eastern and south-eastern suburbs.
That political geography has made the dinners more sensitive in an election year, especially as Labor faces pressure over cost of living, crime, hospitals, housing and infrastructure.
Governance experts have previously warned that government-funded community events can blur the line between public purpose and political advantage when access, speaking roles and seating are controlled in ways that favour the party in power.
The Opposition argues that the line has now been crossed.
Labor insists the events are legitimate celebrations of multicultural Victoria.
The question now is whether the Premier’s expanding calendar of faith and community dinners will be seen by voters as inclusive outreach or as taxpayer-funded political stagecraft in a state heading towards a hard-fought election.
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