Ken Wyatt to lead Gather Foundation board

Former Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt has joined the Board of the recently restructured Gather Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation formed to empower and support young Aboriginal people to lead the protection of native food industries, unsustainable harvesting, and uphold Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP).

The foundation was created in response to the alarming economic value of First People’s participation in native food industries, currently estimated at an unacceptable one per cent, with unregulated native food operations continuing to exploit ancient practices at the cost of deplorable Aboriginal social statistics.

Simultaneously, biodiversity loss and wildlife displacement, particularly in Western Australia, due to climate change, development and extreme weather conditions, are devastating the environment.

Australia’s first Indigenous federal minister

Mr Wyatt became the first Indigenous Australian elected to the House of Representatives and Australia’s first Indigenous federal minister in 2015 as Assistant Minister for Health. Through his seven-year tenure, he played a key role in securing the National Agreement on “Closing the Gap” and was instrumental in establishing the Indigenous Voice.

He will lead an Aboriginal strong board including local entrepreneur and Nyoongar man Gerry Matera, Ecologist and founder of Bushfood Farms Australia Tamarand Cresswell, and AFL legend Peter Matera, who is soon to join the board.

“The native foods industry exists because of Aboriginal knowledge, yet our people receive just a fraction of its value,” Mr Wyatt said.

“Gather Foundation wants to change this story and give young Aboriginal leaders the tools and voice to protect culture, our environment, and our future.”

Gather Foundation is the brainchild of Gerry Matera, who has built a series of social enterprise businesses that support Aboriginal employment and cultural connection, including Gather Foods, a native food manufacturing and catering company that currently services corporate WA and the events market.

Lack of integrity

Mr Matera said he had become increasingly frustrated by the lack of integrity in the native foods markets and wants to disrupt native food industries to ensure economic, environmental and ICIP benefits are returned to First Nations people.

“It is inconceivable that the ancient knowledges and practices of our First Nations ancestors can be traded – sometimes internationally – with little to no regard for the cultural and intellectual property that underpins them,” Mr Matera said.

Ken Wyatt in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra in 2021. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas) 

“I want a future where these industries are regulated by the very people whose bloodlines made them possible, where the young people remain connected to Country and its protection – empowered by economic opportunity. Elders must be honoured as they pass down crucial knowledge to sustain our culture. This is the vision I want to bring to life through Gather Foundation.

While Gather Foods already works with a network of authentic Aboriginal producers, the Foundation will leverage the company’s established commercial channels to bring new agriculture projects to market.

Gather Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer, Monica Kane, believes that mobilising Aboriginal people into native food industries within a commercial framework could be game-changing in ensuring sustainability for Aboriginal empowerment and the transfer of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK).

“The Foundation has ambitious plans for land acquisitions, partnerships, collaborations and ethical land restoration,” Ms Kane said.

“As a not-for-profit, we are taking a new and unique approach to fundraising as an investment that shapes native food economies, restores culture and creates commercial outcomes for Aboriginal people.

“As a key prerequisite, our adopted projects will immerse young people into culture, led by Elders with training, jobs and industry enabling capabilities that will have far-reaching benefits.”

Gather Foundation aims to champion capability-enabling projects that align with its governing pillars of empowerment and employment, cultural preservation and knowledge protection. This also includes market expansion and commercial integration, strength through collaboration, elevating Aboriginal stories, and funding First Nations projects.

The Foundation’s inaugural project will be announced in the lead-up to a fundraising gala event scheduled for mid-October 2025.

Prospective donors and partners should visit www.gatherfoundation.org.au for more information.