Page 42 - Australian Defence Magazine November 2022

42 DEFENCE BUSINESS NTIBN
NOVEMBER 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
STANDING UP FOR INDIGENOUS BUSINESSES
As the strategic importance of northern Australia grows, with investment into vital defence infrastructure ramping up over the next decade, a vibrant Aboriginal business sector is burgeoning in the North – but there is greater potential still.
ROYA GHODSI | DARWIN & SYDNEY
EVEN with the significant increase in the number of Indige- nous businesses across Australia over the past 30 years, as a proportion of the population – particularly in the Territory – Indigenous business ownership is still under-represented.
This is where the Northern Territory Indigenous Business Network (NTIBN) comes in. As the peak body representing Indigenous business in the Northern Territory, the NTIBN supports businesses in building capacity and accessing commercial opportunities, with the mission of increasing the economic and social prosperity of Indigenous Australians.
Since its formation in 2010, the NTIBN has come a long way in lifting the profile of its members group, as well
as driving shifts around Aboriginal procurement in the Northern Territory.
ADM sat down with Naomi Anstess, General Manager for Indigenous Business Growth, and Jerome Cubillo, CEO, to talk about the need for Indigenous contracting in Defence, and where there are still gaps around policy and dialogue that we must work to close.
THE ‘WHY’ BEHIND INDIGENOUS BUSINESS
Indigenous people make up over 30 per cent of the Northern Territory’s population, and almost 50 per cent of the student population, making it the largest ethnic group in the Territory. And yet, they are in the lowest socio-economic bracket.
DEFENCE