The First Nations Economic Empowerment Alliance has welcomed a Senate report which found First Nations people and businesses are significant contributors to the national economy, but restricted access to finance and capital is limiting their growth and financial wellbeing.
The report by the Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs on the economic self-determination and opportunities for First Nations Australians, reinforced findings in a report by the Australian National University and Indigenous Business Australia released last month.
The Alliance - a coalition of Indigenous leaders working to transform Indigenous economic opportunity in Australia - said the report represented a "crucial moment" regarding the transformation of Australia's relationship with Indigenous people.
They noted it came at a "critical juncture," in the wake of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's commitment to an Indigenous economic empowerment framework in August, as well a growing recognition First Nations peoples are central to Australia's renewable energy future.
Alliance chair, ANU Professor Peter Yu, said the report needed to be a catalyst for real action, "not just another document gathering dust", arguing it is not "just another contribution to the discussion - it's a demand for immediate action".
"It [the report] validates what Indigenous people have long known - the current system is holding back billions of dollars in potential Indigenous economic development," Professor Yu said.
"We're not talking about minor piecemeal adjustments. We need to completely reimagine the economic empowerment of Indigenous peoples".
The report called for a fundamental strategic transformation of the broader economic and fiscal policies to help increase First Nations economic empowerment.
"All levels of government, financial institutions and investors must strengthen existing – and develop new – instruments to enhance First Nations people's access to finance and capital," it said.
Committee chair and Mutthi Mutthi and Wamba Wamba woman, Senator Jana Stewart, only confirmed what First Nations people knew—that Indigenous businesses' contribution to Australia's economy and local communities was significant and rapidly expanding.
"Unlocking greater growth of Australia's economy and transforming First Peoples to long-term generators of wealth and equity requires change from all levels of government, financial institutions, and investors," Stewart said.
The report found for every dollar of revenue spent, First Nations enterprises created approximately $4.41 of economic and social value, whilst Indigenous businesses were also 40 to 100 times more likely to employ First Nations people.
Professor Yu said the evidence was "overwhelming".
"Indigenous communities hold massive potential for generating sustainable wealth through their lands and other assets. But we face formidable structural barriers that must be dismantled now, not in some distant future," he said.
Senator Stewart agreed, noting: "We need an approach that embraces broader economic and fiscal policies, reshapes the public narrative, engages a strengths-based framework, stimulates investment and trade, and works in genuine partnership."
Professor Yu called for an immediate action to modernise the country's institutional architecture, citing Canada's successful legislative framework for Indigenous economic self-determination.
"While Canada moves forward, Australia risks being left behind," he said.
"The solutions are clear - we need to remove investment barriers while simultaneously building Indigenous organisational and business capacity."
Professor Yu added: The time for incremental change is over. Government, industry, and Indigenous leaders must come together now to drive the fundamental reforms needed for genuine economic justice."
