Jawoyn Contracting, a subsidiary of the Jawoyn Association Aboriginal Corporation, has folded. (ABC News: James Elton)
In short:
Jawoyn Contracting, the construction arm of the Jawoyn Asssociation Aboriginal Corporation, has stopped trading, with about 30 employees made redundant.
Its clients included the Department of Defence, Northern Territory government and Katherine Town Council.
What's next?
The business's collapse has created uncertainty around the future of its projects.
About 30 workers have lost their jobs after the collapse of a prominent Katherine Indigenous construction business, with clients including the Department of Defence and Northern Territory government.
The ABC understands staff from Jawoyn Contracting, which is owned by the Jawoyn Association Aboriginal Corporation, received an email last week, on January 22, informing them they had been let go effective immediately and would be paid redundancy.
The organisation confirmed it had "ceased trading" at a meeting with NT government officials the following day.Â
Jawoyn Contracting's work included projects at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Tindal in Katherine and housing and civil works for the Northern Territory government.
Jawoyn Contracting is based in Katherine, about 310 kilometres south-east of Darwin. (ABC News: James Elton)
An employee of Jawoyn Contracting afterwards posted on social media saying he and many of his colleagues had been made redundant.
"Was good while it lasted … 30 men unemployed," he wrote.
Another worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also told the ABC about 30 jobs had been impacted.
But the worker said he thought it was likely the construction business would eventually be revived.
Jawoyn Contraction had been planning to work on upgrades at RAAF Base Tindal, outside of Katherine. (Supplied: RAAF-Shane Gidall)
The chief executive of Jawoyn Contracting, John Berto, who was also the chief executive of the Jawoyn Association, has also departed both organisations.
In a letter to stakeholders earlier this month, the Jawoyn Association board of directors acknowledged Mr Berto's departure from his role as chief executive and thanked him for "his significant contributions to the growth and advancement of the corporation".
The document made no reference to the folding of Jawoyn Contracting.Â
The Jawoyn Association did not respond to a series of questions from the ABC.
Projects in doubt
The small Indigenous homeland of Werenbun sits on Jawoyn country, on the western edge of the famous Nitmiluk National Park.
The Jawoyn Association, through its Jawoyn Contracting construction arm, is responsible for housing services on the homeland, including repairs and renovations.
For the past two weeks, no one has come to collect the bins or cut the grass.
The bins have not been collected in Werenbun for two weeks. (ABC News: James Elton)
Joshua Hunter is a senior traditional owner of the Jawoyn people's Wurrkbarbar clan and the grandson of legendary Jawoyn elder Peter Jatbula, who was instrumental in securing land rights over the area.
"I feel gutted because some of the employees that have joined in with Jawoyn [Contracting] are my young cousins, young brothers," Mr Hunter said.
"It was a sense of belonging for them."
Joshua Hunter says no one from the company formally told him about its decision to "cease trading". (ABC News: James Elton)
Mr Hunter said he had been waiting years for Jawoyn Contracting to carry out urgent maintenance work on his Werenbun house.
"Our flyscreens are really old, so a lot of bugs come in at night," he said.
Joshua Hunter's house in Werenbun. (ABC News: James Elton)
He said the collapse of Jawoyn Contracting now put all projects in the community on indefinite hold.
"I kind of found out through the grapevine, but no one has really, you know, come up to me and told me about it professionally, which should have happened," he said.
There are buildings in Wrenbrun that are rundown and abandoned. (ABC News: James Elton)
In a statement, a spokesperson for the NT Department of Infrastructure and Logistics, which is responsible for urban and remote housing, said officials had met with the Jawoyn Association's new acting chief executive, Darrin Hepworth, last week.
"It was confirmed at this meeting that Jawoyn Contracting Pty Ltd has ceased trading," the spokesperson said.
"[The department] is currently reviewing projects associated with Jawoyn Contracting … and we will work with relevant stakeholders to continue and complete the impacted projects."
Joshua Hunter says his brother, who lives next door, also needs maintenance work. (ABC News: James Elton)
Business grew rapidly
Since its inception in 2018, Jawoyn Contracting had grown from a small-scale builder to a large-scale civil works company with a significant fleet of trucks and earthmoving equipment.
The firm's corporate documents show it previously completed a job slashing the grounds of the RAAF's massive Delamere bombing range, south of Katherine.
The documents also say the firm planned to pick up work on the upgrades to RAAF Base Tindal, just outside of Katherine.
The Department of Defence did not respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for the Katherine Town Council, which Jawoyn Contracting also lists as a client, said it had "one potential job" with the construction company in the works, but it would be able to make other arrangements.
The Katherine Town Council was also a client of Jawoyn Contracting. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
