Co‑ops and mutuals can support emerging industries across Northern Australia

Melina highlighted emerging First Nations‑led co‑operatives in agriculture and renewable energy, drawing on case studies included in BCCM’s submission to the inquiry. These include the Northern Australia Aboriginal Kakadu Plum Alliance (NAAKPA), which represents a significant share of the Kakadu plum harvest across northern Australia, and the Ngardara Co‑operative at Borroloola, Australia’s first majority Aboriginal‑owned renewable energy generation project.

“The Ngardara Co‑operative is the majority owner facilitating community governance and economic benefit from the energy assets,” Melina told the committee, noting the urgency of community‑owned energy solutions in the context of rising fuel costs.

Alongside these opportunities, Melina outlined several barriers limiting the growth of co‑operatives in Northern Australia, particularly regulatory complexity and uneven access to capital. While co‑operatives operate under a nationally harmonised framework, responsibility remains with states and territories, leading to inconsistencies and delays for emerging enterprises.

Access to capital was also raised as a constraint, with Melina pointing to disparities in the availability of co‑operative loan schemes across jurisdictions. While such schemes operate in New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia, they are not available in Queensland or the Northern Territory, limiting the ability of agricultural co‑operatives to invest in value‑adding infrastructure.

BCCM’s submission further highlighted the need for greater awareness of co‑operatives within government agencies and public funding bodies, to ensure these business structures are not unintentionally excluded from grants, programs and investment opportunities.

Concluding her remarks, Melina encouraged policymakers to recognise co‑operatives as established and credible business models for developing emerging industries, particularly where community ownership, local benefit and long‑term economic participation are priorities.
“We need to bring them to the centre of thinking about business development and give them parity of treatment,” she said.