Delivering local jobs for local Indigenous people

Maliyan Horizon is one of many success stories of regional suppliers leveraging their engagement with Inland Rail as a growth opportunity to further develop in-house rail skills and broader business capabilities.

Andrew Craig from Fulton Hogan on the left, Peter Beath and Emma Muller from Maliyan Horizon in the middle, and Dart Johnson from BMD on the right.

The Eastern Riverina-based Indigenous organisation had only been operating for 18 months when it was awarded a contract for Inland Rail’s Parkes to Narromine project.

At its peak, Maliyan Horizon was supplying close to 50 crew members on site including general labourers and operators of water carts, rollers, excavators, articulated dump trucks and graders.

About 85 percent of staff came from local communities, of which 60 percent were local Indigenous.

Maliyan Horizon Director Peter Beath said Inland Rail heavily influenced the transformation of the business and provided sustainable employment for the local Indigenous community.

“Inland Rail has been a fantastic project to be part of,” Mr Beath said.

“We’re a young, growing business and to be given an opportunity to work on a massive infrastructure project like this was amazing.

“Instead of having a core crew we ship around the country, we were able to give the local mob local jobs with hands-on experience to become qualified machinery operators on-site thanks to Smart & Skilled NSW Government funding.

“The flow-on effect is the paycheck is being spent locally and going back into the community.

“This was the biggest project for us, with the support of the policies and procedures of Inland Rail ARTC to support businesses like ours, shows local industry can deliver if given the opportunity,” he said.

Inland Rail is committed to working in partnership with Indigenous communities to create meaningful opportunities that deliver lasting benefits for individuals, their families, and their communities.

Maliyan Horizon’s participation on Inland Rail has given the organisation a platform to diversify the skillsets of their people. Their staff are now well equipped and trained to work on other major local infrastructure projects, ensuring ongoing employment opportunities.

Meanwhile, Maliyan is keen to build on its success with the Parkes to Narromine project by exploring future project tender opportunities across the Inland Rail program.

Image caption: Andrew Craig from Fulton Hogan on the left, Peter Beath and Emma Muller from Maliyan Horizon in the middle, and Dart Johnson from BMD on the right.