Growth in Indigenous employment in the Queensland resources sector has outstripped growth across the total resources sector workforce, doubling in ten years with growth also recorded in the North West according to Queensland Resources Council Chief Executive Ian Macfarlane
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On Wednesday Mr Macfarlane addressed the Indigenous employment and training forum at Myuma’s Dugalunji Training Camp near Camooweal.
“As a sector we can always do more to train and develop Indigenous workers, but it’s encouraging to see that despite a slight fall in numbers across the sector in the last five years, Indigenous employment increased,” Mr Macfarlane said.
“In Mount Isa the number of Indigenous people working in the resources sector increased from 177 to 206 or 16 per cent in the last five years. The proportion of Mount Isa’s employees in resources that are indigenous has risen from 5.5 per cent to 7.4 per cent.”
In 2006, Indigenous people comprised 3 per cent of the state’s workforce in resources, growing to 4 per cent in 2016, in line with Queensland’s aboriginal population which places the resources sector as one of the few industries with a fair representation of Indigenous people.
According to the latest census data Indigenous workers in the sector stood at 908 in 2006 and rose to 2007 in 2016.
The forum at Myuma’s Dugalunji Camp was organised as one of the initiatives under a joint QRC and Queensland Government MoU to increase Indigenous participation in the resources sector - the partnership is in its 10th year.
“I promised (Myuma managing director) Colin Saltmere I’d come out and it is a very impressive organisation and very well run, arguably the best in Australia in what they do,” Mr Macfarlane said.
“Every year the QRC recognises the enormous Indigenous contribution to the sector at our Indigenous Awards in Brisbane. It is our hope that the award winners will go on to be ambassadors for the sector, acting as role models and encouraging more Indigenous people to join our industry.”
In 2015 the Dugalunji Aboriginal Corporation signed a deal with the University of Queensland to use spinifex to revolutionise the plastic and rubber industries at a nano-technological level.
In groundbreaking research, the spinifex fibre is being used as an addictive to make plastics harder and more durable.
Dugalunji and UQ were developing three patents to create latex products, including condoms.