Rio Tinto has scrapped its planned indigenous advisory group, deciding instead to establish a broader advisory body with an expanded remit covering all Australian communities.
Fortescue Metals Group has announced a high-level framework agreement with the Eastern Guruma people and flagged a $500 million mining joint venture but was light on details.
More than $120 million will be spent on boosting early childhood care and education in Indigenous communities, with most of the funding earmarked for an expansion of the Connected Beginnings program.
Fortescue Metals Group has awarded its single largest contract to an Aboriginal business, after confirming a five-year maintenance contract with Warrikal.
The state government has opted for conservative targets with its updated Aboriginal procurement policy, as it revealed a fall in the value of contracts awarded to Aboriginal businesses.
Geraldton-based Garla Barna Civil & Mining has been subcontracted by engineering and construction giant Clough for work on the Waitsia gas field in the Perth Basin.
Rio Tinto has been criticised for allowing Aboriginal heritage artefacts collected at its giant Marandoo mine to be dumped at a Darwin rubbish tip in the 1990s.
WA’s Native Title Alliance has called on the state government to halt the progression of its Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill, arguing that traditional owners should be better consulted.
Companies wanting to engage with Aboriginal businesses have been urged to look past their unconscious bias and think more widely about the opportunities.
Fortescue Metals Group is aiming to award $1 billion of contracts to Aboriginal businesses and joint ventures over the next decade through its new green energy operation.
WA’s largest Aboriginal health service has come out of administration after appointing a new board and modernising its governance rules, with independent directors given voting powers.
