The Australian Government and the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) have agreed on an innovative partnership that represents another major step towards closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage.
The partnership will improve the socioeconomic wellbeing of Indigenous Australians by expanding access to employment and business development opportunities available to Indigenous people and communities in mining regions.
The new agreement builds on a partnership commenced in 2005, and is set out in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) officially launched by the Deputy Prime Minister on 27 May 2009 during her address at the Annual Minerals Industry Parliamentary Dinner. The MoU was signed by Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin, Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson, Employment Participation Minister Brendan O’Connor, and by Mr Ian Smith on behalf of the Minerals Council of Australia.
The partnership is an example of the Australian Government and corporate Australia working hand in hand, with Indigenous communities, to improve the socio-economic wellbeing of Indigenous Australians and help lay the foundation for lasting, intergenerational benefit. The agreement represents a genuine national approach to Closing the Gap – one where government, Indigenous people, corporate Australia, and the whole community pulling together in a joint effort to end Indigenous disadvantage. The MoU will contribute to the Australian Government’s Closing the Gap targets, particularly the target of halving the gap in employment outcomes within a decade.
Indigenous people and minerals companies both stand to gain from this agreement as it will lead to improved opportunities for companies to source local labour, products and services, and will help by providing higher skills and higher staff retention throughout the industry.