A Geraldton business owner described his key steps to becoming a good Indigenous ally in a forum on contracts, trust and Indigenous politics that had the crowd laughing.
Craig Patterson developed Centrals Earthmoving from the ground up in the Midwest and has always had a mantra of employing Indigenous people who were energized by the experiences he witnessed growing up.
Mr Patterson told his own story of growing up in Morawa and moving to Perth with an Aboriginal friend, where he saw firsthand how racism robbed his mate of opportunity.
This experience led Mr. Patterson to take initiatives such as lobbying for Clontarf to come to Geraldton and launching the Bayalgu training program which has helped over 150 Aboriginal youth.
Speaking at the Mid West Aboriginal Business Forum in Geraldton on Thursday, Mr Patterson said it was up to young Aboriginal people to seize the opportunities their elders fought so hard for.
“There is a huge responsibility for these people to continue the journey for future generations,” he said.
Speaking about some of the nuances of working with indigenous peoples, Mr Patterson said business owners who were not sincere in their intentions would quickly find themselves on the wrong side of the bush telegraph.
“Indigenous people will watch you and see what you do and how you act, and what is essential to do is to ensure that your sincerity will be verified and tested,” he said.
“This crowd has an incredible communication network.
“That network and that gut reaction is something you have to trust.”
On contracts, Patterson said it was important for business owners to understand the importance of verbal agreements for Indigenous peoples.
Conversely, he said many start-up Indigenous businesses need to learn for many businesses that a deal isn’t a deal until it’s signed on paper.
“For Aboriginal people, what you say is a contract and you will be held accountable for it,” Patterson said.
“For some Aboriginal people, the written word does not have the same meaning as the verbal word and they are ready to leave if it doesn’t work.
“I also often see that the word written for some Aboriginal people is seen as a bit of distrust.”
Mr Patterson urged business owners to avoid engaging in Aboriginal politics, which he said made Canberra “look like a garden party”.
He also urged an end to lateral violence among indigenous peoples, describing collaboration as essential to developing the indigenous business sector.
