Wednesday, 18 March 2020

Little Rocket

Mr WYNNE (Richmond—Minister for Housing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Planning) (09:40): Earlier this month I was delighted to celebrate with CEO John Burgess and team 10 years of Little Rocket. Little Rocket is a great example of not only a small business but an Aboriginal business that has successfully harnessed government policies and frameworks to diversify and grow. The theme for Little Rocket’s 10th anniversary is, not surprisingly, ‘From little things big things grow’, and it is clear from their achievements that that theme has been put into practice absolutely.

From Clothing the Gap to the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Little Rocket is an Aboriginal business who have produced world-class communications and marketing material for seemingly everybody. They have also played a valuable role in helping the government to promote the social procurement framework, including its work with the Level Crossing Removal Project and the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority. The nation-leading social enterprise strategy and social procurement framework put social and sustainable outcomes at the centre of government’s procurement activity. The framework has resulted in the Victorian government spending more than $17 million with Aboriginal businesses and organisations such as Little Rocket. I would like to recognise the important work that Little Rocket has completed included the treaty website, ‘Faces of Aboriginal small business in Victoria’, and design and illustration work for the last two Victorian government Aboriginal affairs reports. It was great to take a tour of their tram office in Easey Street, Collingwood—up on top of one of the high-rises there—and I congratulate the team for 10 years of incredible work.