Former Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt AM, has joined the Board of the recently restructured Gather Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation formed to "empower and support" young Aboriginal people to lead the protection of native food industries and uphold Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Foundation said it was created in response to the "alarming" economic value of First People's participation in native food industries, estimated at an "unacceptable" one per cent, with unregulated native food operations continuing to exploit ancient practices "at the cost of deplorable Aboriginal social statistics".

Simultaneously, the Foundation noted, biodiversity loss and wildlife displacement, particularly in Western Australia, due to climate change, development and extreme weather conditions, are devastating the environment.

Mr Wyatt, the first Indigenous person elected to the House of Representatives, became Australia's first Indigenous federal minister in 2015 as Assistant Minister for Health.

Through his seven-year tenure, he played a key role in securing the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and was instrumental in establishing the Indigenous Voice.

He will lead a board including local entrepreneur and Noongar man Gerry Matera, ecologist and founder of Bushfood Farms Australia Tamarand Cresswell, and AFL legend Peter Matera - who is soon to join the board.

"The native foods industry exists because of Aboriginal knowledge, yet our people receive just a fraction of its value," Mr Wyatt said.

"Gather Foundation wants to change this story and give young Aboriginal leaders the tools and voice to protect culture, our environment, and our future."

Gather Foundation is the brainchild of Gerry Matera, who has built a number of businesses that support Aboriginal employment and cultural connection, including Gather Foods, a native food manufacturing and catering company that currently services corporate WA and the events market.

Mr Matera said he is increasingly frustrated by the "lack of integrity" in the native foods markets and wants to disrupt native food industries to ensure economic, environmental and Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property benefits are returned to First Nations people.

"It is inconceivable that the ancient knowledges and practices of our First Nations ancestors

can be traded – sometimes internationally – with little to no regard for the cultural and intellectual property that underpins them," he said.

"I want a future where these industries are regulated by the very people whose bloodlines made them possible, where the young people remain connected to Country and its protection - empowered by economic opportunity.

"Elders must be honoured as they pass down crucial knowledge to sustain our culture. This is the vision I want to bring to life through Gather Foundation."

While Gather Foods already works with a network of authentic Aboriginal producers, the Foundation aims to leverage the company's established commercial channels to bring new agriculture projects to market.

Gather Foundation's chief executive, Ms Monica Kane, believes that mobilising Aboriginal people into native food industries within a commercial framework could be "game changing" in ensuring sustainability for Aboriginal empowerment and the transfer of Traditional Ecological Knowledge.

"The Foundation has ambitious plans for land acquisitions, partnerships, collaborations and ethical land restoration," Ms Kane said.

"As a not-for-profit, we are taking a new and unique approach to fundraising as an investment that shapes native food economies, restores culture and creates commercial outcomes for Aboriginal people.

"As a key prerequisite, our adopted projects will immerse young people into culture, led by Elders with training, jobs and industry enabling capabilities that will have far-reaching benefits."

Gather Foundation aims to "champion capability-enabling projects" that align with its

pillars of empowerment and employment, cultural preservation and knowledge

protection.

The Foundation's inaugural project will be announced in the lead-up to a fundraising gala event scheduled for mid-October 2025.