Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for that question. One of the most encouraging parts of Closing the Gap last week was the launch of the Indigenous business sector policy by the Prime Minister. The Indigenous Business Sector Strategy is, in fact, the first comprehensive roadmap for the sector. It has become necessary because of the impact of government policies on small businesses across the country. Success isn't a bad problem to have, but, when you get so many businesses moving ahead, you do need to have additional policies to assist.

The most recent census showed a 30 per cent increase in the number of Indigenous businesses since the previous census. This hasn't happened by accident. The government understands that, if Indigenous businesses are to succeed, we need to address their impediments to growth. Historically, this has been undercapitalisation. The Indigenous Procurement Policy was one of our answers to this. As we know, this has been a phenomenal success since we introduced it in 2015. Indigenous businesses have won, on a value-for-money basis, over a billion dollars in contracts. I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate the thousand Indigenous businesses across the country that have taken advantage of the opportunities we've created. This is, in fact, their achievement.

The massive growth in the sector means that we need to ensure there are the support services in place for the sector to continue to grow. Even though there has been an exponential growth in the number of Indigenous Australians in business, this is still well below parity rates. If we can close this gap in economic participation then, modelling by Deloitte Access Economics shows, the economy will be $24 billion better off, through increased tax receipts and decreased welfare payments.

So the new support services and the Indigenous Business Sector Strategy have been codesigned with the sector. That's how we do business—through codesign with the sector. It will ensure that the sector has the supports it needs to continue to grow and contribute to the Australian economy over the next decade.