Bowen Basin Mining Club director Jodie Currie said the Rockhampton event was an auspicious beginning to the roadshow, with an air of optimism from both indigenous and business participants in the room.

“Businesses turned out in force to today’s briefings, and with presentations from Adani and Downer Group and information available from the Industry Capability Network and Austmine, attendees gained a valuable insight into the supply of the Carmichael project,” Currie said.

Adani Australia projects director Peter Thomas said the aim of the roadshow is to maximise business engagement with regional Queensland, particularly in the Rockhampton, Townsville, Mackay-Bowen and Clermont-Central Queensland project regions.

“While the initial project opportunities are in construction, the bulk of the ongoing opportunities for regional businesses will be in long-term project supply,” Thomas said.

The Adani Australia presentation emphasised the Carmichael project’s vital importance to the future growth of India, which now has a larger population than China.

“This project is a litmus test to see if Australia can really take advantage of the opportunities available due to steady growth in India,” Thomas said.

Each Roadshow event begins with an Indigenous Supplier Briefing, followed by the general supplier briefing session and networking opportunities.

Indigenous supply will be a large focus of the mine, rail and port projects, and Mr Thomas said that the key to effective supplier proposals is Indigenous involvement, as Indigenous training and jobs, along with regional supply, are main priorities for project procurement.

The Rockhampton and Emerald Roadshows were attended by representatives of the Wangan & Jagalingou people, traditional owners of the land on which the Carmichael project is proposed.

Wangan & Jagalingou spokesperson Norm Johnson Jnr said that the level of Indigenous engagement shown by Adani Australia so far is promising.

“We are looking for realistic outcomes to move our people towards careers, jobs and businesses as a result of this project. Other mining leases have simply resulted in tokenistic work for our people, but we see an opportunity here for a new era of relationships.

 

“At the end of the day, we want to run sustainable businesses to empower our people and ultimately resource cultural activities on country.”