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The Australian ¾«¶«´«Ã½app University's Vice-President (First Nations) Professor Peter Yu delivered the plenary address at the Kimberley Aboriginal Clean Energy Forum in Rubibi (Broome) on Friday 19 March 2026. 

"There are opportunities when First Nations people have control, equity, investment and capital," Professor Yu said.

"Clean energy and critical minerals projects are increasingly important. When you look at critical mineral deposits and potential clean energy projects in Australia, they are 60 to 80 per cent on Aboriginal land. There is huge potential for economic growth in these regions. Economic empowerment and self-determination must come through institutional and structural change.  

"If First Nations communities and organisations want investment from clean energy or critical mining proponents, we must ask ourselves: How can we give investors what they are looking for? How can we forge agreements on land access and land security that balance First Nations agency with investors’ need for certainty?"