I've been thinking long and hard about the Commonwealth's new partnership announcement on Indigenous economic development. It's being celebrated loudly across the media.

And yes, it is important. But let's be clear: on what planet do we think Blak economic development can happen without the Blak Business sector?

For decades, Indigenous affairs has been designed through a narrow lens: health, welfare, housing, land, culture, justice. All crucial, but all deficit-framed. Economic development was nowhere to be seen.

Closing the Gap (CTG) came out of this history. Its earliest targets were about life expectancy, infant mortality, literacy, incarceration… Not enterprise, not business, not ownership. We were patients, students, tenants, clients, but never entrepreneurs, employers, or investors.

Only later did CTG add an "economic participation" target (Outcome 8) aiming for 62 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25–64 in employment by 2031. But that's still not the same as economic development. A job is not ownership.

Wages are not wealth. And employment without enterprise is dependency by another name.

And let's be honest: even the Coalition of Peaks, formed to give Aboriginal Community Controlled organisations a voice in CTG negotiations, has not structurally included business.

ACCOs are critical, they save lives every day, but they are not designed as economic developers.

Without business at the table, the Peaks model has reinforced the same gap: economic self-determination framed as a service issue, not a structural right.

In September, we in the Blak Owned and Led Indigenous business network launched the National Indigenous Business Chambers Alliance (NIBCA) not as a protest, but

as a practical response.

The state and territory Blak Chambers have long done the heavy lifting: they are the ones on the ground, working with real enterprises and the community.

Yet time and again, we've been invisible:

Invisible to government.

Invisible to the Peaks.

Invisible to the Land Councils.

Invisible to investment.

But we have not been invisible to industry. That's where we've found traction, partnerships, clients, and legitimacy.

I'm not naive. I don't think everyone loves Chambers or networks like ours (NTIBN and its peers). We have our detractors, sceptics, jealousing adversaries and we are certainly not perfect.

But guess what?! We are making a difference. We are making THE difference. And I'm unapologetic about that.

I am tired of saying: talk to us. Engage us. See us. Hear us. Work with us. Because our businesses are not reliant on handouts. They are not chained to government.

They. Are. Not. Chained. They are self-determined. They are buying their own way out.

They are: Innovating, employing, sharing, building, advocating.

This is what real economic development looks like. It is happening already, driven by Blak entrepreneurs on the ground. And yet, when policymakers talk about the "Aboriginal economy," too often they reduce it to welfare, service delivery, or community programs.

All economies in democracies fail without private sector involvement. So why do we treat the Aboriginal economy differently? Why is it boxed into "not for profits" and social services only?

Why is Aboriginal enterprise always spoken of in terms of deficits, as if economic development is someone else's domain - health, housing, land, justice, education - but rarely business?

We need a reset in the narrative. The Business Council, industry bodies, chambers of commerce, the Minerals Council… they know the private sector is the game changer. It builds nations. So why are we not learning from them? Why are we not doing the same?

And don't tell me that Supply Nation is sufficient to represent Blak business at this table. That's a poor job. Their members are not Blak businesses, they are non-Indigenous corporates. Supply Nation's product is a database they sell back to those corporates, while too many genuine Blak businesses are left out.

It's the grassroots mob - the side hustlers, the micro-enterprises, the small Blak-owned businesses trying to get in - who are constantly overlooked. Meanwhile, too many certified businesses are held by non-Blak interests or shell structures. That is black cladding, and it undermines true economic sovereignty.

Too many certified businesses are held by non-Blak interests or shell structures. That is black cladding, and it undermines true economic sovereignty.

And it's not just rhetoric. Supply Nation's own Leadership Roundtable recently included no Indigenous business representation, instead 15 corporations and government agencies. Critics call it out for "performative reconciliation," lack of accountability, even censorship and toxic culture.

We are not dismissing the enormous work already done. We stand on the shoulders of giants.

Pat Turner is an icon. Her leadership of the Coalition of Peaks has been fearless and history-making, ensuring ACCOs have a national seat at the table.

Professor Peter Yu is an incredible community leader, who has spent decades fighting for the Kimberley and now at ANU is helping shape national debates.

Catherine Liddle (a long held hero of mine) has been and IS a strong voice through SNAICC, bringing the lens of our children and families to national reform.

We applaud their work. We respect their fight. We want the Peaks to keep doing their amazing, critical work. But just let us the F in.

And yes, I know ANU and ILSC are doing what they can and what they believe is right. But that doesn't stop me worrying.

When a university leads on economic empowerment, data sovereignty takes a back seat. Too often, institutions extract cultural and economic knowledge, publish it,

patent it, monetise it, while communities lose control.

Look at bushfoods and botanicals. Our cultural capital becomes someone else's academic output and profit line. That is not empowerment. That is extraction.

The Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation was created to acquire and return land and water to Indigenous control, and to build economic opportunity from those assets.

But today, the ILSC itself is divesting. It is negotiating the sale of Ayers Rock Resort at Uluru, a globally recognised tourism icon on sacred land, to a U.S. venture-capital-backed company.

An institution built to restore Indigenous control is now preparing to hand one of our most powerful assets to foreign investors. I just don't 'sabi'.

If the ILSC divests, it must only ever be into Indigenous hands. Through Chambers, Traditional Owner corporations, Indigenous consortiums.

So what is my opinion on a solution? Here's what I reckon:

1. NIBCA and the state/territory Chambers must have formal seats in national economic, procurement, and policy forums. Not as observers. As decision-makers.

2. Lift the bar. 51% ownership is not enough. We need majority Indigenous management and control, chamber-verified suppliers, and teeth against black cladding.

3. Chambers need long-term core funding to build data, governance, networks, and capacity, not just one-off projects.

4. Indigenous business and communities must control data about us, our enterprises, our cultural and ecological knowledge.

5. The ILSC must stop offloading Indigenous land and businesses to outsiders. Assets like Uluru must remain Indigenous-owned, Indigenous-governed, Indigenous-benefiting.

6. Economic development must be tied to Closing the Gap. It is the lever that makes every other target achievable. Jobs, housing, health, education, all improve when communities generate and control wealth.

LET US IN!!!

This is not about tearing down. This is about building together. We acknowledge the work of those who came before us. We applaud the Peaks, the ACCOs, the community leaders who have given everything to our people. And we know this:

Senator Malarndirri McCarthy is brave enough to do this. She knows the power of Indigenous Chambers. She has spoken openly about the importance of jurisdictional voices. She has the courage to make sure Blak business is not invisible any longer.

So here's the invitation to government, industry, universities, investors, communities and the Peaks: work with us. Walk with us. Not ahead of us. Not instead of us. With us.

Blak business is not charity. It is sovereignty. It is dignity. It is sustainability. It is national prosperity.

This new partnership could be historic IF we get it right.

If we embed business, data sovereignty, and asset control at the centre. If we recognise Chambers as a core part of the backbone of Indigenous economic development.

If we don't, then it's just another press release, another rebrand, another decade wasted.

We are ready. We are building. We are innovating. We are employing. We are sharing. We are building.

The only question is: will you finally see us, hear us, and work with us?

You Mob Know Where to Find Me….

Naomi Anstess - insolent cage rattler, Blak advocate, Blak woman, Blak mother, Blak sister, Blak daughter, Blak DV and rape survivor, Blak business owner, Blak university degree holder, Blak business grower, Blak community engager, Blak teacher, Blak policy maker, UNAPOLOGETIC CHANGEMAKER.

PS – for those of you who regularly tell me to 'sit down little girl and wait your turn…' I am a 44 yo woman with grey hair and 4 kids- and my turn is NOW