The Western Cape Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) represents a small but growing business sector in the Western Cape, which is located on the coast of Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland, Australia.
This remote but vibrant region has a diverse and sustainable economy supported by a broad range of business activity, which includes mining and engineering, construction, tourism, hospitality, education and the service sector. With Weipa as its unofficial capital, this region is the hub for commercial and community activities on Cape York and the Western Cape.
Weipa’s major employers and decision-makers – Rio Tinto and the Weipa Town Authority (WTA) – are key partners in the WCCC, as are the three Aboriginal Shires of Mapoon, Napranum and Aurukun, and the Western Cape Communities Trust.
The WCCC has, as the business community’s representative, also actively supported the Mineral Council of Australia and the Commonwealth Government in the development and subsequent implementation of the Western Cape Regional Partnership Agreement (RPA). The importance and acknowledgement of the RPA reflects the broader business community and key stakeholders’ involvement, which reinforces the long standing commitment to achieving training, employment and business development opportunities for Indigenous people from the Western Cape Communities.
The Chamber maintains the opinion that successful outcomes for Indigenous employment in the region will provide tangible results for the Indigenous employees and their employers. Similarly, Indigenous small business will, like the broader business community, provide long term outcomes for Indigenous people and their communities through the growth of community based economies within those distinct Indigenous communities and the wider Western Cape region.
Photos thanks to The Western Cape Communities Trust
© Western Cape Chamber of Commerce 2024
