The Aboriginal group enmeshed in a royalties dispute with Andrew Forrest is building multiple commercial enterprises in the Pilbara.
Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation receives far more news coverage than its peers.
These stories almost invariably focus on its long-running battle with Andrew Forrest and his company Fortescue Metals Group over the payment of royalties: more precisely, the lack of royalties from mining on Yindjibarndi country.
What has not been reported is the emergence of the Yindjibarndi ‘nation’ as one of the largest, most diverse and commercially ambitious Aboriginal groups in Australia.
This is highlighted by three industry rankings compiled by Business News.
Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation (YAC) has grown to be Western Australia’s second largest Indigenous corporation.
It has expanded rapidly over the past five years, with revenue increasing from just $9.8 million to $75.8 million.
Much of this growth stems from the success of its contracting arm, Yurra, which is ranked as WA’s second largest Indigenous business.
Yurra, including its joint venture business GBSC Yurra, has about 400 staff and generated $120 million in revenue last financial year.
The Yindjibarndi people also control one of the state’s larger Indigenous charitable trusts.
Yindjibarndi People Community Trust had total income last year of $7.8 million, with most of that coming from rail tariffs paid by Rio Tinto, which has a rail line passing through Yindjibarndi country.
That guaranteed income has been crucial in enabling the Yindjibarndi people to invest in their commercial operations, which are set to grow after several strategic moves.
These include a long-term housing deal between Woodside Energy and Yurra subsidiary Karratha Housing Pty Ltd.
In the energy sector, YAC has partnered with international company ACEN Corporation to build wind farms and solar farms on Yindjibarndi country.
Yindjibarndi Water is another new venture, and the group has also taken a 50 per cent stake in car hire business Cedrent Enterprises.
It is also pursuing a tourism project at Millstream and aspires to establish its own mining operation.
YAC chief executive Michael Woodley believes the group’s success stems from what it calls a 3C nationbuilding model, which puts equal weight on community, culture and commercial opportunities.
“I put it down first and foremost to being a ‘nations’ model,” Mr Woodley told Business News.
“These businesses are majority or fully owned by the Yindjibarndi nation rather than individuals.”
Mr Woodley said this approach tied into Indigenous land-use agreements (ILUAs) YAC signed.
With Yindjibarndi ‘ngurra’, or country, covering 13,000 square kilometres in the Pilbara, there is plenty of potential for more agreements of this kind.
“If our partner is a mining company that asks us to sign an ILUA for them to operate on our country, there is a better chance of succeeding commercially if the nation itself is the business owner,“ he said.
“The commitment and obligation falls back to our binding agreements.
“It’s an easier journey for both the First Nations and industry partners to work collaboratively.”
WA's top 13 largest Indigenous corporations according to Business News' Data and Insights, with Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation ranked in second place.
Mr Woodley added that the ownership structure delivered wider community benefits.
“The money we generate continues to circulate within the nationbuilding model,” he said.
Another key person in the Yindjibarndi story is Mike Hollett, whose past experience includes being chair of the Water Corporation.
He first met Mr Woodley in 2009, when Mr Hollett was chief executive of National Lifestyle Villages.
After securing a contract to build affordable housing in the Pilbara, Mr Hollet set about forming relationships with local Aboriginal groups.
“I went to Roebourne and found Michael and got drawn into his cause at that time,” Mr Hollett told Business News.
After a career shift, he caught up with Mr Woodley again in 2012.
“He gave me three tasks,” Mr Hollett said.
“He said, ‘can you start a contracting business, can you get some funds to help restore the old Victoria Hotel (in Roebourne) and can you start a mining company?’
“I thought, ‘Oh yeah there are three challenges’.”
The first two have been completed and the third remains an aspiration.
Mr Hollett said he recognised early on that the Yindjibarndi would need partners to bring capacity and capability.
He reached out to Liam Wilson, a landscaping contractor he knew in Port Hedland, who came on board as a partner and founding director.
“That’s how Yurra got started,” Mr Hollett said.
YAC started with 50 per cent ownership of Yurra, has moved to 66.6 per cent and is expected to increase that further.
Diversification
Mr Hollett, who continues as chairman of Yurra, said the business had deliberately become more diversified.
“We started in gardening, went to landscaping, then small civil projects, to larger civil projects, and focusing on maintenance because there is a steady income stream,” he said.
“Then industrial services, where we had some skills, and building.
“That has created a very diverse business but also one that is very good for our pathways to trade model.”
That model is designed to give Yindjibarndi people experience, training and trades tickets.
“We’re able to match the opportunities for our people,” Mr Woodley said.
The result is that Yurra has a 34 per cent Indigenous employment rate, which is a relatively high number for the sector.
The group has also had a focus on innovation. Its emerging technology division has developed a system of apps to gather data into the business and measure performance of teams.
Yurra has also focused on leadership transition, with Steve Rogers starting as chief executive at the start of this year.
Rio Tinto is a cornerstone client and others include Sodexo, Woodside Energy, Main Roads WA and various tier one contractors.
A key step in the Yurra journey was establishing a joint venture with Geraldton Building Services & Cabinets in 2016.
“We like to partner with those with expertise,” Mr Hollett said.
“We’ve done a lot with GBSC and won a lot of business together.”
The joint venture has helped Yurra build capability as a building company.
“That is a fundamental service for the Yindjibarndi people,” Mr Hollett said.
“It’s good to have the capacity to build and maintain your own homes, which we’re doing at the moment on country.
“That does lead to opportunities to do other things, which is where the Karratha Housing piece came in.”
Housing JV
Karratha Housing Pty Ltd was established by Yurra specifically to enter a long-term agreement with Woodside Energy for the build and lease-back of 20 houses in Karratha.
The lease is for a term of 15 years, with two five-year options, making it the longest contract Woodside has awarded a traditional owner business.
Under the agreement, 10 homes will be built by GBSC Yurra and another 10 will be constructed by Roebourne-based Indigenous business Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation Limited in partnership with Thomas Building.
All of the houses will be maintained by Karratha Housing for the duration of the leases.
As such, the agreement provides Yurra with long-term revenue and was part of a deliberate strategy to build its balance sheet.
Mr Woodley emphasised that Woodside was effectively a long-term guarantor.
“That’s what makes it worthwhile. We wouldn’t take the risk otherwise,” he said.
Mr Woodley added that the agreement came after years of talks.
It also came after Yurra won a contract to supply scaffolding at Woodside’s Pluto LNG project.
“We’ve been talking to them for four years; these things take time,” Mr Hollett said.
Renewables
The planned development of wind farms and solar farms is shaping as the group’s largest commercial venture.
Yindjibarndi Energy’s goal is to build 3,000 megawatts of wind, solar and battery power in the Pilbara.
Last year, it signed an agreement with Rio Tinto to explore opportunities to supply the mining giant with renewable power.
Yindjibarndi Energy chief executive Craig Ricato said the group had made progress on two projects.
Its first, known as Jinbi, is located 50 kilometres inland from Karratha.
The project will likely comprise between 75MW and 150MW of solar and battery power.
Mr Ricato said he was aiming for a final investment decision this year and for construction to commence next year.
The second project, known as Baru, will be located about two kilometres further inland in the foothills of the Chichester Range.
That will allow it to exploit the strong and consistent winds in the area.
The project will include 42 wind turbines generating up to 300MW of power along with a 250MW solar farm and two 100MW batteries.
Mr Ricato said the aim was to connect the Baru project into the North West Interconnected System, but that would only occur when there was agreement on a transmission corridor.
A final investment decision on the larger project is targeted for 2027.
Group links
Links between the energy venture and other Yindjibarndi entities illustrates how the group operates.
Even though Yindjibarndi Energy is part owned by YAC, it has negotiated its own ILUA with the traditional owners, giving them the final say on project locations and management of cultural heritage.
The energy business expects to create new commercial opportunities.
“We would see Yurra as a preferred contractor,” Mr Ricato said.
The energy business has also turned to a third entity, Yindjibarndi Water, to assist with finding suitable water sources for its projects.
Yindjibarndi Water has been jointly established with Mr Hollett’s company The Right Water Co.
“It’s largely supporting Yindjibarndi projects on country with water needs,” Mr Hollett said.
“It also has a strong basis for looking at the cultural significance of water for the Yindjibarndi.”
For instance, it is doing research with Yindjibarndi elders on the cultural significance of Millstream, which is at the heart of Yindjibarndi country while also being an important water source for the region for the past 50 years.
Another venture being pursued by YAC is the development of a tourist camp at Millstream.
YAC was granted a lease to develop the camp more than four years ago after a competitive tender run by the WA government.
The proposed development would include glamping tents, caravan and camping sites.
However, Mr Woodley said there were issues that need to be resolved.
“The interest is still there, we would love to do it,” he said.
“The problem is the location they have earmarked for this tourist-style development.
“We think access is a problem.
“It won’t serve anyone if we go with the original plans.” Mr Woodley said the proposed access point was suitable only for experienced 4WD operators.
Sector trends
Yurra’s growth means it is surpassed only by mining services company Warrikal in the ranking of WA’s largest Indigenous businesses.
Warrikal and most other large Indigenous businesses, such as Carey Group, Pindari and Eastern Guruma, are privately owned.
They are also focused on opportunities in the Pilbara, where the big iron ore miners collectively award about $1 billion of contracts to Indigenous businesses each year.
Another major Indigenous business in WA is Wirlu-murra Enterprises.
It is owned by Wirlu-murra Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation, a ‘breakaway’ from YAC that has been strongly supported by Fortescue.
The success of its contracting arm means WYAC is also one of WA’s larger Indigenous corporations, with total income last year of $40 million.
In the listing of Indigenous corporations, YAC is beaten only by Karlka Nyiyaparli Aboriginal Corporation, which had total revenue of $88.8 million last year.
Karlka has substantial business operations in fencing, recruitment and facilities management.
Among Indigenous charitable trusts, the Noongar Boodja Trust had the largest revenue last year at $73 million.
It is followed by Pilbara-based trusts that generate most of their revenue from mining royalties, led by the Nyiyaparli Charitable Trust.
A big mover in this sector was the Njamal People’s Trust. Its total income more than doubled last year to $51 million, with a big contributor being royalties paid by lithium miner Pilbara Minerals.
