For Indigenous Australians, Brisbane was the focus of NAIDOC Week as the host city for this year’s NAIDOC Week celebrations. For IBA, the annual NAIDOC Breakfast, held in Brisbane, was an opportunity for IBA to show their support for NAIDOC Week and Indigenous economic development.

The Breakfast was held on Friday 10 July and hosted by the ABC’s Message Stick presenter Miriam Corowa.

Speakers on the day were the Minister for Families, Housing, Communities and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) the Hon. Jenny Macklin, new IBA Chair, Dr Dawn Casey, and the Corporate Development Director of Henry Walker Eltin (HWE) Mining, Mr John Jones.

IBA Board member, Leah Armstrong and IBA Deputy General Manager, Kaely Woods

Guests included the Deputy Secretary of FaHCSIA, Dr Jeff Harmer; Indigenous Land Corporation Chair, Shirley McPherson; Chief Executive Officer, Paul O’Callaghan; IBA Board members; representatives from the private sector; Indigenous groups, and staff from other government departments and agencies.

General Manager of IBA, Mr Ron Morony, confirmed IBA’s support for NAIDOC Week as an important time to reflect on the achievements of Indigenous Australians and to look to the future for what can be achieved. “As an organisation with 20 locations throughout Australia this breakfast event is one of many activities that IBA staff will be participating in during the week long NAIDOC celebrations,” Mr Morony said.

Speakers applauded the work that IBA and partner organisations were doing in closing the economic gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Minister Macklin noted the ’fantastic passion and drive’ of those gathered at the event. ”I want to say to the Board and to the senior management of IBA just how critical your role is in supporting those Indigenous business people around the country who really do want to get ahead.”

Paul O’Callaghan and Dr Jeff Harmer

The Minister spoke of the potential for partnerships available through IBA and encouraged attendees to become “aware of the opportunities that IBA have to help businesses get off the ground.”

“If we can do it in a way that takes advantage of the very large infrastructure spending that the Government’s putting in place…I’d just love to see that happen so that we see Indigenous people taking advantage of the Government’s broader economic objectives.”

Minister Macklin stressed the importance of economic development for Indigenous Australians. “Economic independence is important for so many reasons but one of the most important reasons is the control that it gives individuals over their own lives.”

A key feature of the Minister’s address was her announcement of the appointment of Dr Dawn Casey as the new Chair of IBA. She praised Dr Casey as a ‘person of great distinction’ with ‘outstanding creativity’ and wished her all the best in her new role.

In response, Dr Casey said her appointment as Chair was an honour and provided an opportunity to influence the commercial and economic aspects of Indigenous development. She said “the role of reconciliation and support of reconciliation by the Government is critically important” and she is excited to be Chair of an economic development organisation which “enables Indigenous people to own their own homes and businesses through investment, creates jobs for Indigenous people and is a key contributor to closing the gap.”

Dr Dawn Casey, Hon. Jenny Macklin, John Jones

John Jones from HWE Mining (a wholly owned subsidiary of Leighton Contractors’ Pty Limited) spoke of the value of partnering with IBA. “NAIDOC Week brings into sharp focus the role that Leighton Contractors and IBA have in commercial ventures with Indigenous partners. We believe in creating a self-sustaining cycle of Indigenous people creating real jobs for Indigenous people. We have a partnership with IBA; it’s certainly yielded fruit with more to come.”

Nurturing youth and providing opportunities for employment and training is a key focus for Mr Jones. “The goal is to provide pathways to employment. We run extensive programs; pre-employment, mentoring, cultural awareness, but we really have to do more. We want young people to see Leighton Contractors as a real and positive long-term career path.”

The breakfast provided a great opportunity for those involved in Indigenous affairs to celebrate the great work being done in Indigenous economic development and share their optimism for the future.