Indigenous

A long-awaited state government report on the future of remote indigenous communities doesn't overtly refer to closures controversially flagged in late 2014, but promises to direct funding towards 10 of the biggest.

Welshpool-based Indigenous Construction Resource Group has been named 2016 business of the year at the Perth NAIDOC Awards.

Western Australia’s largest indigenous contractor has elected a new chairman and confirmed plans to lift both Aboriginal ownership and Aboriginal participation on its board.

SPECIAL REPORT: Indigenous entrepreneur Joanne Pellew must be getting used to racking up firsts.

SPECIAL REPORT: For indigenous entrepreneur Blaze Kwaymullina, the Pilbara is not the remote desert that many other Australians would perceive it, but rather the crucible of Aboriginal business development in this country.

SPECIAL REPORT: Indigenous contractors are revising their business plans and moving into new sectors as the mining construction boom has waned.

SPECIAL REPORT: Having taken the opportunity provided by the mining construction boom to establish his own contracting firm, Robby Mallard is now in the process of building a diversified and sustainable business.

Western Australia’s second largest Aboriginal corporation has defended a joint venture with Perth contractor Gary Johnson following claims the agreement had produced unfair profits for Mr Johnson’s business.

Perth-based Energy Made Clean has struck a partnership deal with Aboriginal corporation Eastern Guruma for the rollout of solar power stations and solar water pumps in northern Australia.

Social Ventures Australia has secured backing from three philanthropic foundations established by prominent businesspeople in Perth for the first venture in a new innovative local fund.

Mine camp operators Compass Group and Sodexo, and an Adelaide-based print business that supplies Fortescue Metals Group were among the winners in the 2016 Supply Nation supplier diversity awards.

A long-running dispute involving the Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation and Fortescue Metals Group is set to continue after YAC members re-elected a bloc of directors who had recently been replaced by a court-appointed receiver.

Training and employment schemes targeting indigenous workers are slowly gaining traction.

Mining camp operator Sodexo has pledged to create 400 new jobs for indigenous Australians after becoming the latest company to join the federal government’s employment parity initiative.

The Supreme Court has appointed a receiver to take charge of the Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation in the lead-up to a general meeting set for next month to settle a long-running dispute with a breakaway organisation backed by Fortescue Metals Group.

John van Bockxmeer has been named a 40under40 finalist for his commitment to creating healthier WA communities. He has also been recognised with the Inspiring Possibilities award. 

The Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation, which has been mired in years of controversy, has been referred to the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations after the Supreme Court found it did not have validly appointed directors.

As five women and one male champion were honoured at this year’s Chamber of Minerals and Energy’s women in resources awards, Premier Colin Barnett declared the resources industry to have reached a mature level of growth that will likely be eclipsed by advances in the state’s other sectors.

A recent participant in Fortescue Metals Group’s VTEC program has notched up another notable achievement, having slipped into the role of ‘chief executive for a day’ as part of the miner’s unique approach to creating opportunities for Aboriginal people.

Former Kimberley Land Council CEO Wayne Bergmann has bought the National Indigenous Times from the liquidator of the company behind the newspaper.

Recent annual meetings have failed to resolve long-running divisions at two of WA’s most important Aboriginal corporations.

A Western Australian charity focused on improving the lives of Aboriginal children through exercise and nutrition programs has hired staff and increased the amount of work it’s doing in several schools, following a major funding increase.

Indigenous contracting in the Pilbara is getting more competitive, more complicated and arguably more divisive, as players chase a shrinking pool of work.

Perth-based Indigenous Construction Resource Group is poised to become a bigger player in the mining services sector after its chairman, Clinton Wolf, lured NRW Holdings founder and former managing director Jeff McGlinn out of retirement.

Indigenous contractor Yurra has formed a joint venture with BGC Contracting to provide services to Rio Tinto’s rail work in Cape Lambert and Dampier, with the value of the deal undisclosed.

Perth based entities Primary Securities and GCM Advisory have launched Australia’s first Aboriginal investment fund, with an aim to provide 15 per cent returns and promote the growth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses.

A bill to officially recognise Aboriginal people in the Western Australian constitution has passed through state parliament.

Business News shines a light on four businesses operating in WA that have achieved the highest level of national recognition for increasing opportunities for indigenous Australians.

The Wirlu-murra Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation has continued to benefit from being one of Fortescue Metals Group’s preferred indigenous partners, having joined with Thiess to win an $85 million contract in the Pilbara.

One of WA’s largest Aboriginal corporations has been sharply divided as it seeks to deal with the impact of plunging iron ore revenue.

The state government has signed six historic indigenous land use agreements covering 200,000 square kilometres of the South West of Western Australia.

The federal and Western Australian governments will be forced to permanently shelve plans to close remote Aboriginal communities in WA, Greens leader Christine Milne said in Perth this morning.