Working with Indigenous Communities
Reconciliation Action Plan
In Australia, our commitment to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to build sustainable and mutually beneficial relationships is underpinned by our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).
Included in our second Stretch RAP 2019-20225 are practical actions and deliverables that help to advance our contribution to reconciliation in the communities in which we operate. A Steering Committee comprised of senior management provides regular oversight of the RAP and monitors the implementation of actions and deliverables, with progress being reported publicly on an annual basis.6
Workshops have been held with relevant teams to set actions and deliverables in preparation for our next RAP from 2023 onward.
5 INPEX Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2019-2022
6 Reconciliation Action Plan Report 2021
Employment and Local Businesses
Through our business activities, INPEX is laying the foundations in Australia to support sustainable, multi-generational economic participation opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We integrate both employment and business participation opportunities into the way we do business through regular reviews of our human resources and procurement practices to remove barriers to engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and businesses.
Our “Solid Pathways” program provides learning and developmental employment opportunities to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals to work in the oil and gas industry. The program’s participants receive on-the-job support and external training for 12 to 18 months, in preparation for potential long-term direct employment with INPEX Australia. In FY2021, thirteen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals commenced employment with INPEX.
The Solid Pathways program is a key deliverable contained in INPEX’s Stretch RAP 2019-2022 and is a major contributor to INPEX achieving its commitment to employ 36 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, or 3% of our workforce, by 2022. This commitment was achieved by end of December 2021, with a total of 36 individuals employed. In addition, more than 100 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were engaged through Ichthys LNG operations contractors in FY2021, exceeding the target of an average 60 positions each year from 2019 to 2021.
To increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander supplier diversity, a target has been set for INPEX and its contractors to engage 12 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander majority-owned businesses, to the value of more than A$1 million, in the period from 2019 to 2021. Since the commencement of the RAP in 2019, INPEX and its contractors have engaged 17 majority-owned Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander businesses for scopes of work with a total value exceeding A$10 million.
Cultural Heritage
In Australia, heritage management plans have been developed and implemented to protect the cultural heritage of the communities in which we operate. The INPEX Larrakia Advisory Committee—a group primarily comprising of Larrakia people from a range of backgrounds and experience—is consulted on cultural heritage matters as the traditional owners of the Larrakia lands and waters (the Darwin region) on which the Ichthys LNG onshore processing plant is located.
In keeping with the 2021 NAIDOC Week7 theme of “Heal Country” and as part of INPEX’s NAIDOC Week celebrations, we published an article on our Australian intranet about “Heritage Hill,” a protected area situated on the boundary of the onshore processing plant and a site of cultural significance to the Larrakia people.
INPEX has long been committed to preserving items of cultural significance to Aboriginal peoples and was the first company in the Northern Territory (NT) to engage Larrakia Heritage Monitors during the early stages and prior to construction of the onshore plant. During archaeological surveys, a number of known Aboriginal heritage sites were identified in and just outside the onshore development area. Following consultation with the Larrakia Heritage Management Executive Committee (the predecessor to the INPEX Larrakia Advisory Committee) and the NT Government Heritage Branch, some sites and objects of cultural significance remained in situ while others were relocated to Heritage Hill.
A Larrakia-owned business has been engaged to provide the Heritage Hill grounds maintenance services, with Larrakia Heritage Monitors employed when required.
In Indonesia, INPEX has conducted interviews regarding the cultural heritage and sacred sites of affected communities as part of the Indonesian Environmental and Social Impact Assessment process (AMDAL) for the Abadi LNG Project. We have used the insights gained to assess potential project impacts on cultural heritage and sacred sites, and are formulating measures for minimizing those impacts.
7 NAIDOC originally stood for “National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee.” NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated by Australians from all walks of life.
Case study: Supporting Aboriginal conservation of cultural and environmental values
INPEX-led Ichthys LNG Joint Venture has committed A$24 million over two decades to assist Aboriginal rangers in the management and protection of land and sea country in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia.
The Aboriginal Ranger Grants Program (ARGP) will receive funding from Ichthys LNG Joint Venture as part of a new plan between the company and the NT Government under the existing Ichthys Project Voluntary Offsets Agreement.
The funding will help Aboriginal rangers and sea managers deliver a program for the conservation management of dugongs, cetaceans and threatened marine matters of national environmental significance in the Top End region of the NT.
NT Minister for Parks and Rangers, Selena Uibo, said she was delighted that Ichthys LNG Joint Venture was partnering with Government to add more value to the work of this remarkable group of Territorians, and helping to create local jobs for Aboriginal rangers in remote parts of the NT.
“Their multi-million, two-decade commitment is a standout example of corporate investment in the public good,” said the Minister.
The Larrakia Rangers, who cover sea and land country around Darwin, said the funding opportunities have enabled them to lead projects that Larrakia want to do and use their local knowledge.
Under the ARGP, two types of grants are available through a competitive, merit-based system:
- Capital funding – which has helped rangers purchase vehicles and trailers, boats, fire and weed spray units, heavy equipment, information technology and communication systems and infrastructure.
- Conservation land management funding – which has provided rangers with assistance for activities including feral animal management, fire and weed management, protection of threatened and “iconic” species, cultural management, and training and skills development.
The Larrakia Rangers, who cover sea and land country around Darwin, said the funding opportunities have enabled them to lead projects that Larrakia want to do and use their local knowledge.
Under the ARGP, two types of grants are available through a competitive, merit-based system:
- Capital funding – which has helped rangers purchase vehicles and trailers, boats, fire and weed spray units, heavy equipment, information technology and communication systems and infrastructure.
- Conservation land management funding – which has provided rangers with assistance for activities including feral animal management, fire and weed management, protection of threatened and “iconic” species, cultural management, and training and skills development.