Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am delighted to be able to speak on the Indigenous Business Australia corporate plan for 2008-13 and to congratulate the corporation again for the very good work that it does. I want to pay tribute as well to Mr Joseph Elu, who for 12 years was the chairman of Indigenous Business Australia. Earlier this year Mr Elu resigned from the corporation to stand for election as mayor of the Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council, which was an amalgamation of the former councils of Bamaga, Seisia, Umagico, New Mapoon and Injinoo on Cape York Peninsula.

Joseph Elu has been a fabulous leader of IBA over a long period of time. A lot of the success of this organisation has been due to his leadership and I am sure he will continue to lead in his role as the newly elected mayor of the regional council. I wish him all the best in his new role and I thank him most sincerely for the work he has done on behalf of Indigenous people as the chairman of IBA.

I also welcome Mr Bob Blair as the Acting Chairman of IBA. Mr Blair has been a board member since July 1998. He has an extensive business background as administrator of the Dreamtime Cultural Centre in Rockhampton and a good background in training experience. He was awarded the Centenary Medal for service to the community in 2001. I should also mention that Joseph Elu was honoured with an Order of Australia award last year. My sincere congratulations to him on that award.

IBA is all about funding Indigenous people to assist and enhance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-management and economic self-sufficiency and to advance the commercial and economic interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders by accumulating and using a substantial capital base for the benefit of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Over the years IBA has done a lot of good work in giving commercial assistance and expertise to Indigenous people. Although I do not have a lot of time to speak this evening, I want to mention a few of the real success stories because we often hear about Indigenous difficulties, and the media and people are always eager and quick to criticise when things go wrong.

One of the success stories is Joyce and Russell Downes with their bakery up in Normanton. I was up there not long ago but I did not stop at their bakery because baking bread is not on my eating plan—and I would not trust myself to stop! But I understand they are doing very well in the Normanton bakery. They had been working on stations for 20 years and have recently gone into the bakery with assistance from IBA. There is also the example of Great Greenway Eco Tours and Firestick Tours from my locality around Townsville and Cairns. They operate full-day interpretive ecotours, with a wealth of quality information and examples of geology, geomorphology, ecology, plants and animals. We also hear of Indigenous people owning their own homes with the assistance of IBA. And, most recently, IBA has funded the purchase of the ‘sugar shaker’—the main hotel in Townsville at the present time. That has now been acquired with assistance from IBA and will be used to train Indigenous people—

Mark Bishop (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Macdonald, your time has expired.

Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.