Key points

• The $700 million target that made Main Roads nervous, and what the Director General said about missing it
• One hired truck, two guys and a shovel: how Benang won the contract for the new gas network north of Perth
• Why Dino Otranto's father sacked his only employee, his own son

Main Roads WA has put a $700 million target on Aboriginal procurement as its engagement model extends across the state's entire transport portfolio, taking in Westport, the Public Transport Authority, the Department of Transport and the Office of Infrastructure.

"We put a target of $700 million on that, which we were a bit nervous about, but the thing I like is that my Director General said, look, if we fail to hit those exact numbers, that's okay, as long as we make the effort," Dennis Kickett, the agency's Director of Transport Portfolio Aboriginal Engagement, told Supply Nation's Connect 2026 conference.

He shared the stage with Fortescue chief executive of metals and operations Dino Otranto and Benang managing director Jasmine Kadic, chaired by Ochre Ventures partner Josh Duke. The discussion kept returning to the two things Indigenous businesses need most from their biggest customers: capital and a steady pipeline of work.

On capital, Otranto pointed to the facility Fortescue built with ANZ.

"We worked with ANZ Bank, and hats off to them, around creating a facility with our support, not direct financial backing, but our support to get capital to flow where it's needed most," he said.

"I just heard now that three other banks are taking that same model and adopting it to areas outside Fortescue, and I think that's fantastic.

"We don't ascribe to a handout or a royalty regime followed by a community donation. That's not what we are about."

Main Roads found another route on the billion-dollar Bunbury Outer Ring Road, where equipment programmes for local contractors were funded from the project's own finance and businesses had to tender for the gear.

"It wasn't like just saying, here's the equipment, go operate," Mr Kickett said.

The agency now has more than 92 Aboriginal businesses on its panel contracts, and Aboriginal employment has climbed from around 1 per cent when Mr Kickett started to between 5 and 6 per cent.

On pipeline, Mr Kickett said: "There is always going to be maintenance work. I tell these businesses: get into maintenance. Major projects are a big sugar hit. They bring a temporary high, you see joint ventures form, and that's fine."

"Do the jobs that no one else wants to do first."

Behind it sits an assurance framework: audits of missed bids, health checks with contractors, and mandatory PowerBI reporting.

"If a contractor says they are going to spend $10 million or $20 million with Aboriginal businesses, they have to show us exactly how they are going to do it," Mr Kickett said.

"We will have those uncomfortable conversations and hold them to account."

Ms Kadic runs the kind of business those systems are meant to reach. Benang, which means "tomorrow" in Noongar, delivers underground water, power and gas services, and began working with ATCO about five years ago.

"When we first started, we had one hired truck, two guys and a shovel," she said.

"It hasn't always been positive; we've made mistakes. But the main thing is that we were accountable. We sat down, we spoke, and it went both ways."

That grew into the major contract for the new gas network north of Perth, along with traineeships and apprenticeships.

"This isn't just about business; it's about communities flourishing," Ms Kadic said.

Mr Otranto said one of Fortescue's great partnerships reached a breakdown before both sides laid their cards on the table. A young employee printed a 3D map of the whole area from a geo-survey, and the groups mapped out the next 25 years together.

"With that North Star in place, all the minutia in the weeds started to dissipate," he said.

"You can't have those conversations if you haven't been through a breakdown first."

Ms Kadic's advice to Indigenous entrepreneurs starting out: "I would suggest deeply understanding why you are doing it," she said. "At times when you are in a world of hurt and asking yourself why, it is that why that will get you through."

Mr Otranto's came from his father, who ran a small shop and sacked his son, his only employee.

"I said, Dad, why did you do that? I needed this job. He said, well, because you're not that good, right? You need to hustle. I need to feed you, but you need to earn it."

On success in five years, Ms Kadic named "opportunity to ownership", with wealth creation in her family, her mob and the community.

Mr Otranto said: "I want to see a redistribution of wealth in five years, but based on the values of people, not just the high school you went to."

Mr Kickett works to a longer clock.

"I always say 15 years," he said. "Beyond targets, what I want to see in five to fifteen years is these businesses operating as standalone, business as usual entities. I don't want to be labelling them as an Aboriginal business, they should just be recognised as a business. You should deal with them not because they tick a box, but because they are a great business."