Senator CROSSIN (7:20 PM) —In the adjournment debate tonight, I would like to spend some time congratulating Yirrkala Business Enterprises on celebrating 30 years of operations. Early last week I had the pleasure of returning to the north-east Arnhem Land community of Yirrkala on the Gove Peninsula. It is the second time in my career in this Senate that I have had the pleasure of speaking about this community. It is a community with which I have had a long ongoing relationship since I first arrived in the Northern Territory nearly 17 years ago.

Last week was the occasion of the celebration of 30 years of operations of the Yirrkala Business Enterprises. In that area it is commonly and affectionately known as YBE. Tonight I want to tell you a bit about Yirrkala Business Enterprises. It is one of those quiet achievers you seldom hear about. It is the first Aboriginal industrial company in Australia to operate without government assistance. It is solely owned, operated and controlled by Aboriginal people, and it has now clocked up 30 years of operations. It is owned and operated by 19 Aboriginal clans from the region. It has grown over the years and now employs a work pool of over 200 people, most of whom are local Yolgnu Aboriginal people. Its annual turnover is now around $9 million.

Its core business activities include ore haulage at Nabalco's bauxite mining and alumina processing plant. It also has carriage of roadworks for the Northern Territory government, engineering maintenance, horticulture, landscaping, earthmoving, environmental rehabilitation activities such as seed collection and propagation, roadworks, dam construction and waste management services. The company also markets and sells high quality Aboriginal arts and crafts throughout Australia and overseas.

An important feature of the company's training and working environment, and no doubt a large part of its success, is that it allows Aboriginal people to fulfil cultural obligations and to maintain traditional lifestyles. I am pleased to note that we have the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs in the chamber, so I hope he takes note of that.

Yirrkala Business Enterprises began life back in 1968. Its founder was Keith Larner, a former Yirrkala missionary. As part of the approval to mine in the Gove area, Nabalco, the mining company, agreed to employ Aboriginal people provided their services were commercially competitive. Yirrkala Brickworks started up to supply building materials for the nearby township of Nhulunbuy and Nabalco's alumina refinery. I have been told that it supplied over 1 million bricks during the construction phase.

Later the Yirrkala Brickworks was incorporated as Yirrkala Business Enterprises. During its 30 years of operations it has provided more than 1,000 local people with training, skills and work experience. Many former employees are now working in other Aboriginal associations or using the training acquired at YBE to work as drivers, equipment operators, gardeners and mechanics in homeland centres. YBE has provided Yolgnu people with employment and allowed them to share the economic benefits of local economic development while at the same time maintaining their traditional lifestyles and meeting the demands of Aboriginal ceremonial obligations.

An important development came in 1996 when YBE was awarded a Nabalco contract to haul ore from Rocky Bay, which is an inlet on the Gove Peninsula. This boosted the company's annual turnover by some $2.5 million and provided additional work opportunities for about 20 people. Importantly, the mining of the Rocky Bay ore will last about 20 years and provide security of employment and financial stability for YBE and its employees. Following the start of work on the Rocky Bay project, the former general manager of YBE for 10 years, and now the ATSIC Commissioner, Mr Gatjil Djerrkura, said that the achievements of YBE presented a model for mining companies and Aboriginal communities throughout Australia to work together.

He said:

We can work together and understand each other, appreciate each other's culture and so on. If we can do it here, I am sure the rest of Australia and the rest of the world can see that nothing is impossible for us.

Under Gatjil's guidance the enterprise prospered, undertaking a wide range of work for Nabalco as preferred contractor. This has allowed them to provide employment and training for local Yolgnu people in keeping with YBE's goals, which are to promote the social and economic advancement of the Yirrkala people, to provide training and employment for Aboriginal people, to encourage and implement Aboriginal self-determination and self-management according to their own pace, style and development, and to maximise Aboriginal involvement and enjoy permanent employment.

YBE and all the Yolgnu people and those Balanda non-Aboriginal people who have been involved over the years should be congratulated for their successes. I know it has not been straightforward. They have had setbacks along the way as most large companies have, but they have persevered.

It is important to also note that the aspirations of those involved with YBE are similar to many other Aboriginal communities throughout our country and the Territory. Often Aboriginal people are labelled as being anti-development—usually by those people pursuing their own economic agendas or by those seeking to undermine Aboriginal self-determination. However, the amount of economic development on Aboriginal owned land in the Northern Territory clearly demonstrates this sentiment is patently false. Aboriginal people are clearly on the record as wanting development agreements on their land as long as that development takes into account Aboriginal landowners and their concerns over sacred sites, the environment and their cultural practices and provides employment and training opportunities. After all, it is in their interest to develop an economic base which lessens their dependency on the political whims of governments.

YBE is a long-running example of where Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal economic aspirations can coincide and where there is good will and respect on both sides.

I would like to finish with the words of Gatjil Djerrkura, who said at the time of his departure to take up the position of ATSIC Commissioner:

This is our country. We feel responsible to look after it so it will bear fruit. We're looking beyond the present situation to ways to develop security and stability for families. We're looking for survival.

The achievement that we've made with Nabalco is far too costly to be tokenism or anything that is of detriment to Aboriginal causes, and I think it's an achievement that we all should be proud of.

I think he is right. The motto for Yirrkala Business Enterprises is, `We stand firm to develop our future.' And the last 30 years have proved that by standing firm together they can achieve this. They have achieved 30 years as a business and an annual turnover of $9 million without any government assistance. Once again, congratulations to all those at YBE for what they have achieved, and congratulations to all those who have been involved in that achievement.