The Fyles Government has implemented a new procurement policy that aims to achieve something it is already achieving – awarding five per cent of all government contracts to Aboriginal-owned businesses.

Business Minister Paul Kirby announced the new Aboriginal Procurement Policy on Tuesday, which he said would “increase equitable access to procurement activities” for Aboriginal Business Enterprises in the NT and will apply to all government contracts estimated at $15,000 and higher. He said the aim was to have five per cent of all contracts awarded to Aboriginal-owned businesses in the 2022-23 financial year.

However, a search of NT Government awarded contracts over $15,000 for the 2021-22 financial year shows the government awarded 1781 contracts in total so far, including 89 of those to what it identifies as Aboriginal-owned companies – or 4.997 per cent.

Mr Kirby did not respond to questions about why the government would set a target for a new policy that is already being achieved or if he and the government were deceiving Territorians and all Aboriginal-owned businesses by making it appear that current contracts were not reaching the target.

Mr Kirby’s office also did not say if his staff were unaware of what their current rate of contracts to Aboriginal businesses was or if they would be congratulating themselves next year for a successful new policy initiative.

Details were light on how the new procurement policy would work while still being fair for all prospective tenderers on different government contracts.

The statement said the APP would be a “targeted approach as part of the Value for Territory Framework” currently used to rank tenderers for contracts.

It also appears the NT Government is looking to redefine what an Aboriginal-owned business is and will provide an 18-month “transitional period” for businesses with Aboriginal ownership of 51 per cent who can “demonstrate daily Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in their workforce” to apply to be “classified as an Aboriginal Business Enterprise (ABE)”.

The NT Government’s current definition of an Aboriginal-owned business is 50 per cent “or more Aboriginal-owned or controlled”.

Chamber of Commerce NT chief executive Greg Ireland said the chamber was supportive of the new policy “in principle” in hopes that more remote building can occur by local companies – something Mr Kirby’s statement did not address. Mr Ireland said he was told the government was currently achieving around three per cent of contracts being awarded to Aboriginal businesses.