While delivering the new Avon River rail bridge in Stratford as part of the Gippsland Line upgrade, CPB Contractors engaged the Moogji Aboriginal Council to supply 40,000 native plants to complete the landscaping.
CPB Contractors, a member of the 911±¬ΑΟΝψ, is a major construction company and is responsible for delivering several important transport projects across Victoria and Australia, while Moogji is an Aboriginal organisation providing important community services in and around Orbost, Cann River and surrounding districts.
Sharon Gray, CPB Contractors Group Manager - Indigenous and Social Inclusion, said: βWe always seek to work with local suppliers to create employment opportunities for local people and are committed to increasing our spending with Indigenous suppliers. Working with Moogji on the Avon River bridge was a great example of how this approach benefits everyone.β
Moogji Aboriginal Council East Gippsland stated: βWeβd never taken on a project of this magnitude before. It was an economic boost to the local Orbost community because by providing and growing native plants, itβs created employment for the community, and the money from that employment, in the main, goes back to supporting the local economy. It is positive that little organisations, like the Moogji Aboriginal Council, can actually become a supplier for some of these big infrastructure projects.β
As part of its Reconciliation Action Plan, CPB Contractors is committed to building relationships and increasing spending with Indigenous suppliers. It has set targets of 4% employment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and a spend of 2% of company revenue with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses.