Trish Crossin (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight in Darwin there will be a night of celebration and success, a night of celebrating the history of one of the most successful Indigenous economic enterprises the Territory has seen. It is a night where the Territory will recognise the 40 years since the establishment of a business called ALPA. For those down here in the southern states, you are probably shaking your heads and wondering what it is. For people like me who have lived at Yirrkala in a remote community in the Northern Territory, ALPA is the place you go to get your food and your supplies, the place that is the hub of the very community it serves. I am talking about the Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation.

It is an Indigenous business now that was established by the Methodist Overseas Mission Commission 40 years ago, but it is the group that manages the stores in at least five communities, if not 12 communities, throughout its development now. Unfortunately, I am a bit sad because it is the one celebration this year I would have loved to have been at, to be with the many communities and the many fantastic staff, the chair of their board, Reverend Djiniyini Gondarra, and Alistair King, their business manager. I promised them, though, that if I could not be there in person I would be there in spirit through my words tonight in the Senate chamber. I hope that this little contribution actually shows my gratitude on behalf of my constituents for the many decades of work that they have undertaken in remote communities.

ALPA was incorporated under the Northern Territory of Australia Association Incorporation Ordinance 1963 on 20 June 1972. In 2008, ALPA moved from the Northern Territory Association Act to the Federal Corporation (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act, or the CATSI Act. Throughout that time, you will see more than 20 years of growth and development. There have been changes. In 1972 there was no Northern Territory and under the Northern Territory government there was no self-government act. We were part of the Commonwealth then. So this organisation and this business has transitioned through some enormous challenges, from the Commonwealth to the Territory, from successive governments to the growth and development of Indigenous communities.

They began as a cooperative of community stores in seven Arnhem Land communities. They have come a long way in their 40 years, from starting off where they sold a few supplies from a counter in a store, probably in a tin shed, to what are now fully serviced air-conditioned stores, offering a wide range of quality products in some of the remotest communities this country knows.

They were established under the supervision of the Methodist Overseas Mission Commission. People across the Territory have some fond memories of the missions, but particularly in north-east Arnhem Land. They were owned and operated by the church back in those days. ALPA was formed as part of the mission's economic development plan for Yolngu people 40 years ago. What a vision. Their initial members were seven community stores: Warruwi on Croker Island, Gapuwiyak, Galiwinku, Milingimbi, Minjilang on Croker Island, Ramingining and Yirrkala. Yirrkala and Warruwi, I think, are now not part of the ALPA store chain. They pulled out in the 1980s, probably about the time I left Yirrkala.

They started off by borrowing almost $1 million to upgrade plant and equipment. The early success in the operation of the stores in fact allowed them to repay that loan within three years. Of course, they have never looked back. ALPA have used their successful retail operations to meet their goals and visions. And what are they? Their mission is to conduct an efficient retail business, emphasising customer service, nutrition, staff development, training and education. They say that they strive to enhance the social and economic development of their members, giving primacy to their cultural heritage, dignity and desire for equality with their fellow Australians. As I said, their Yolngu members live and are culturally connected to the Arnhem Land communities. The board of directors is chaired by the Reverend Djiniyini Gondarra OAM, who does a fine and outstanding job. They are as a retailer one of the largest financially independent employers of Aboriginal people in Australia. In fact, I think they employ over 330 Indigenous people to this day.

But ALPA's success is built not just on supplying basic food and requirements in each and every community; ALPA's success is really about their involvement with the communities, their development of their communities. It is something that is so entrenched in those communities. When I think about it I find it hard to actually verbalise it and put it into words. But just like in any small community, the community store is more than just a store. The way in which ALPA have put an emphasis on employing and training the Indigenous people in those communities to help run and operate those stores has been a real credit to how a successful Indigenous business model can operate.

Since the 1970s they have recognised the importance of training and development for their staff. They place a big emphasis on that. They are a registered training provider and they deliver certificates I to IV from the current retail services training package. They have been so successful that they have moved outside of the five main communities that are the owners of this business now and they currently manage 12 enterprises owned by other community organisations around the Territory—I will not list those 12 communities. They are now seen as a consultancy in store management for Indigenous communities. In fact, so successful were they that Alastair King was taken across to Outback Stores some years ago, when their CEO suddenly left, to assist with the establishment of Outback Stores. Luckily and thankfully he is now back with ALPA.

They have initiated a nutrition policy and they have started a benevolent program, which means that the profits that they make go into doing such things as providing funeral support for members of the community, medical transfers when necessary and education funds. A whole range of other benefits for the community derive from their profits—ceremonies, education, medical escorts and community events. They were a part of the initiation and financing of the establishment of the Traditional Credit Union in 1995 in the Northern Territory. They are a truly successful business model.

They have, for the last 14 years, developed their success by bringing together Yolngu, Indigenous people, and Balanda, non-Indigenous people, in north-east Arnhem Land. They have a vision that what they want to do is work together, that they can learn from each other, that the skills and knowledge that non-Indigenous people have about operating and running a successful store are skills and knowledge that can be imparted and given to the Yolngu people in those stores. They have a strong emphasis on good governance principles. They use the Money Story. They teach Indigenous people about profit and loss. And, of course, they work with the communities in which they are based.

I guess there is a lot I could say tonight about ALPA. I am passionate about the work they have done and I am passionate about the way in which they have successfully combined what they do with the communities they are in. They are a recognised industry leader and they are an innovator in this field. As the chairman said in his report last year, he has two visions—one is to steer a ship which successfully manages a company and the other is to be a great ambassador for this company, and that he is. Tonight, as they celebrate 40 years of history, 40 years of success, 40 years of involvement in the Northern Territory, with a net surplus profit of $2.9 million last year, I congratulate them. (Time expired)

Senate adjourned at 19:58