Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-owned businesses have secured $10 billion in commonwealth contracts since 2015 under the government's Indigenous procurement policy. Daniel Joinbee's Gunggandji Aerospace is one of 4,100 Indigenous businesses awarded more than 71,000 contracts over the past nine years. Mr Joinbee is an air force veteran and Gunggandji man from the community of Yarrabah in far north Queensland.
He said reaching $10 billion in government contracts across the Indigenous business sector is a terrific milestone on the journey to self-determination. "The milestone is tremendously important but the job is not done for mob and we're going to keep building our businesses and celebrating our successes," he said. Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy called the achievement significant.