The Carpetbagger and the Scalawag

According to the May 2015 Joint message from the Minister for Indigenous Affairs and Minister for Finance, the Indigenous Procurement Policy (celebrating its 1st birthday today) is about getting Indigenous adults into work, creating opportunities for Indigenous businesses to grow and employ more people.

“The policy will put Indigenous businesses at the front and centre of the way the Commonwealth Government does business.”

But is that what is happening? Are Indigenous businesses benefiting? Are non-Indigenous businesses and business people exploiting the environment? Are the activities of those purporting to lead the sector really in the interests of the community?

Perhaps it's too early to make those judgements, but it's not too early to be vigilant. I want to warn everyone to be on the lookout for the Carpetbagger and the Scalawag.

Carpetbagger (n): a pejorative term for Northerners who moved to the South after the American Civil War, especially to take advantage of the unstable social, financial, and political climate to gain political influence or personal wealth.

Today, a Carpetbagger refers to someone who moves to a new location for opportunistic reasons. I use it to describe those who work within the Indigenous economic environment, who is objectively considered an outsider (non-Indigenous), and who appears to use opportunism and exploitation for their own financial benefits, not for the purpose of the greater good.

Scalawag (n): a white southerner who worked with Carpetbaggers and Freedmen (freed black slaves) to gain political influence or personal wealth.

Today I use Scalawag to describe those Indigenous businesses and business people who willingly work with carpetbaggers.

Having worked for 26years fighting the good fight I’ve met many people (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) who are committed to improving the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Not all "white people" working in this space are Carpetbaggers. But in this time I’ve also met many (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) who are only about lining their own pockets at the expense Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; these are clearly Carpetbaggers  and Scalawags.

I despair that now that Government policies and corporate intent are finally working to redress the economic imbalance, the carpetbaggers and scalawags are being attracted like ants to honey to exploit the system for personal wealth and not for community benefit. A system that's designed to use the procurement dollar to redefine social benefit.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am a free market capitalist and any corporate advantage you have good luck to you (within legal and ethical boundaries of course). However, given the embryonic IPP is being measured against social benefits and outcomes, the carpetbaggers and scalawags are now actively working against the success of the economic empowerment of Australia’s First Nations. This is unconscionable and must not be condoned.

The carpetbaggers will say they’re helping the sector because of capacity issues. I say balderdash! If they really want to help build and grow the sector, they’ll mentor businesses not run them and taking the profit from them at our community's expense.

My advice to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business owners is to identify and be wary of the carpetbagger. Don’t become a scalawag, it isn’t worth it in the long run and the community response to a scalawag may well be harsh.

I plead to Government and corporate procurement teams, ask the questions, investigate the relationships and be curious about why carpetbaggers are working in this space. Those with honourable intentions will be shown to be honourable. Those with dishonourable intentions cannot hide it.

Follow the money - Deep Throat (Mark Felt)

As “Deep Throat” famously told Bob Woodward investigating Watergate – follow the money.

If it’s the non-Indigenous people getting rich at the expense of Indigenous business owners, you can be suspicious that you may have found a carpetbagger.