Concerns have been raised over the failure of the Shire of Derby West Kimberley and the Kimberley Development Commission to include any Indigenous representatives on a key economic strategy oversight body – the Project Control Group.

No Indigenous groups, businesses or individuals have been confirmed as members of the Project Control Group, established as part of the Economic Development Strategy.

The recipient of a major federal grant, the Control Group has oversight over the development of an economic development strategy for the region.

One local Indigenous business leader noted that while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this month promised "an economic agenda to lift Aboriginal people's social and economic wellbeing… even though the Commonwealth provided a grant for the Shire to establish a group to oversee an economic development strategy, Indigenous people were excluded".

A document - "Project Plan: Development of an Economic Development Strategy & Action Plan" – created by T21 Consulting for the Shire notes that the Strategy and Action Plan "must be tailored to the local context and consider" a rage of factors, including the "high number (50+) of remote Aboriginal communities".

Under risks, the document cited: "Stakeholders engagement challenges: There may be difficulty in engaging key stakeholders such as local Indigenous communities, business leaders, government representatives, and local residents".

The mitigation tactics for this "risk" included "Early and continuous engagement: Start stakeholder engagement early in the process and maintain regular communication" and "Inclusive consultation: Use a variety of methods to engage stakeholders… Ensure Indigenous voices are prioritized and included in decision-making".

A Stakeholder Engagement Plan developed by the same firm said "effective stakeholder engagement is a fundamental component of developing a successful Economic Development Strategy (ED Strategy) and Action Plan for the Shire of Derby West Kimberley (SDWK)".

Despite the identification of early engagement and the need to prioritise Indigenous voices, no Indigenous voices were included in the Project Control Group when its composition was first made public last week.

The 2021 Census conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics found more than 60 per cent of the population of the Shire of Derby West Kimberley is Indigenous. The total figure may be significantly higher, with only 25 per cent of the population identifying as non-Indigenous and some 14 per cent providing no response on the question.

A senior Shire figure told National Indigenous Times one difficulty faced in choosing Indigenous representatives for the Project Control Group was needing to "choose between the different organisations to ensure everyone had a voice". Asked why they had no such difficulty choosing non-Indigenous entities, they replied "I didn't choose them. I was told… (by the) KDC (Kimberley Development Commission)".

Kimberley businessman Patrick Green, of the Leedal Group, told National Indigenous Times he was "very disappointed that they needed to be reminded" of the importance of including Aboriginal voices on bodies like the Project Control Group "in this day and age".

"Firstly, Native Title has been won for huge parts of the Kimberley, about 95 per cent," he said.

"Secondly, we have been around as a business for over 30 years, and we generate, we bring back a lot more into the economy than the Shire will ever do in our region."

Mr Green, who is also a Board member of the prominent Fitzroy Valley Aboriginal resource centre Marra Worra Worra, noted that "Aboriginal businesses have been running in this region for quite a long time, and have been successful".

Jeff Gooding, formerly of the Kimberley Development Commission and currently the administrator appointed to the Shire (which went into administration with a significant debt), told National Indigenous Times the Strategy is currently "the establishment phase" for the project.

"We are setting up an Economic Development Strategy process. The Project Control Group is effectively an administrative oversight group, it's not a consultative group, that happens at a different level," he said.

"I called for public expressions of interest to be on the Project Control Group and selected a couple of people from that list. We have looked at that list – this is all happening basically as we speak – we have looked at that list and the responses and clearly there's a gap there for Indigenous involvement… We will be reaching out to people and effectively try to target Indigenous involvement, recognising we have a gap."

Mr Gooding said there is a "strong commitment to involve Aboriginal people".

"The current and future economy of the West Kimberley is only enhanced by involving Aboriginal people and you can't do much development unless Aboriginal people are sitting at the table.

"Strong commitment from me; it's just that the process we ran didn't elicit those names. That means we have to reach out to people; we will approach known individuals that we think can represent Aboriginal interests both in the Derby area and also the Fitzroy area."

Mr Gooding said he was committed to "working through ACCOs (Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations) where I can".

"I would probably start there, and that's what we will be doing, we will start at the ACCOs, but it may well go beyond that. It's a work in progress."

Asked if there was a timeline on Indigenous engagement, he said: "We have about nine to 12 months to do the plan."

"We are at the stage where we are trying to get the architecture right... We have appointed a consultant but we have really got to make sure that we've got the right oversight group, and that's why we are going to add to what we've got.

"We are a group that is trying to get good Aboriginal involvement. We recognise the gap that's there and we are going to try to fill it."

Some time after Mr Gooding spoke with National Indigenous Times, a Shire spokesperson said: "The Shire has completed an Expression of Interest (EOI) process selecting three community members to be part of the PCG (Project Control Group), one from Fitzroy Crossing and two from Derby. However, given the demographics of the Shire of Derby/West Kimberley, the Shire recognised that the EOI process needs to be added to, to specifically ensure good Aboriginal involvement in overseeing the project. Accordingly, the Shire has sought out two additional members of the PCG to represent an Aboriginal perspective from both Derby and Fitzroy Crossing."

The failure to date to include Indigenous representatives on the Project Control Group disappointed other business and community representatives who spoke with National Indigenous Times, one comparing it to the exclusion of Indigenous businesses from Supply Nation's Leadership Roundtable.

The Member for Kimberley, Divina D'Anna, told National Indigenous Times: "Indigenous businesses bring unique knowledge, innovation and connection to Country that strengthen our local economy."

"We need Indigenous enterprises at the table from the start to ensure strategies reflect the whole community and that they deliver benefits for everyone," she said.

WA Regional Development and Kimberley Minister Stephen Dawson told National Indigenous Times: "I was not aware of this matter until it was raised by NIT."

"I wouldn't expect to be consulted on operational matters such as this. I have since asked that the matter be rectified," he said.