Native title driving business development

THE desire for economic development and employment outcomes from resources projects has resulted in indigenous contracting deals becoming a major part of native title and land-use agreements.

Indigenous groups, resources companies, and the state government all appear to be supporting this shift, which has been gaining momentum over the past decade.

One of the early movers was Rio Tinto, which has been forming private agreements with the native titleholders of land it operates on for the past 10 years, and business development and contracting is one of seven regional standards that form the basis of its land-use agreements.

“The regional standards mark a new approach to the way Aboriginal groups and a resources company will work together,” the company said in a statement.

In Rio’s $2 billion deal with four indigenous groups represented by the Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation last year, indigenous contracting was one of the major parts of the agreement, which covered 70,000 square kilometres.

Business development was also a crucial element to the agreement Woodside negotiated last year with the Kimberley Land Council over access to the Browse LNG site, at James Price Point.

Woodside said at least $5 million in contracts would go to indigenous businesses or joint ventures with indigenous partners each year.

It said Woodside contractors would work with indigenous businesses to build a workers’ accommodation village, $10 million over 10 years would support indigenous business development, and the ownership of the workers village would be transferred to the traditional owners after the plant was decommissioned.

At a recent boardroom forum, Centre for Social Impact (UWA) director Paul Flatau said native title played a major role in indigenous business development.

“I think we have also seen the significant role of native title and land use agreements and the implications of that,” he said.

“We have seen the representative bodies get involved in a significant way, Yamatji Marlpa would be the best example of that.”

Mr Flatau said the agreements on Pilbara projects provided the best examples of native title land-use deals working to develop indigenous businesses, but he hoped that would spread across the state.

“We are looking at the South West at the moment and asking how the native title agreement there can be used in the same sort of way as in the Pilbara in developing enterprises,” Mr Flatau said.

Five native title bodies – The Kimberley Land Council, Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation, South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council, Goldfields Land and Sea Council, and Central Desert Native Title Services – cover WA and represent the 25 prescribed body corporate native title groups in the state.

Azure Capital director and co-founder of indigenous contractor Indigenous Construction Resource Group, Clinton Wolf, told the WA Business News forum that indigenous businesses were worthy tenderers for more than just their attachment to a native title group.

“We have got to get more understanding on the community side and the mining company side. These people (indigenous businesses) might not be traditional owners, but they are working like hell to make something of themselves and their company and they are employing people,” he said.

Fortescue Metals Group Aboriginal business centre manager Heath Nelson said FMG worked closely with all its stakeholders, including native titleholders, with business outcomes in mind.

“We are trying to set a strong culture with all the partners we deal with – native title groups, traditional owner groups and contractors. This (indigenous contracting) is part of our business model, it is good business sense,” he said.