In so-called Australia, reconciliation is a word often repeated but rarely respected. It’s spoken in boardrooms, printed on annual reports, and used in branding campaigns. But while corporations polish their Reconciliation Action Plans and Acknowledgements of Country, some of those same companies are actively exploiting First Nations communities; for profit, for power, and for political gain.
From telecommunications giants like Telstra and Optus, to politically connected firms like Good Advice, there is a growing list of organisations that publicly commit to reconciliation while privately engaging in extractive and exploitative practices.
This is not just hypocrisy. It’s racism. And it directly violates the Five Pillars of Reconciliation, especially Equality and Equity and Institutional Integrity, two important foundations for building a just and inclusive society.
According to recently leaked documents reported by The Guardian (24 June 2025), the consulting firm Good Advice helped broker secret gas sales deals for Empire Energy in the Northern Territory. These deals were made behind closed doors, with no clear transparency, no guarantees of informed consent from Traditional Owners, and little regard for the cultural or environmental significance of the land involved.
This is just the latest chapter in a long-running story where Aboriginal land is commodified, and communities are sidelined, all while non-Indigenous consultants and corporations cash in.
Despite decades of hard-won land rights, native title struggles, and community resistance, extractive industries and their enablers continue to treat First Nations lands as little more than a business opportunity.
Companies like Telstra and Optus loudly promote their Reconciliation Action Plans and Indigenous employment programs. But their track record in practice tells a different story, and we all remember the Juukun Gorge debacle, which saw Rio Tinto stripped of their RAP.
Optus has just been fined $100 million for its deceptive behaviour, while in 2022, Telstra was fined $50 million by the ACCC for engaging in unconscionable conduct; aggressively selling unaffordable mobile plans to vulnerable Aboriginal customers in remote communities without properly explaining the terms. This led to thousands of dollars of debt for some families, who were given no real choice, no real understanding, and no real support.
This was not an isolated incident. In many Aboriginal communities, telecommunications infrastructure is unreliable, support is limited, and pricing structures are punishing. While companies profit from government contracts to “service” these communities, the people themselves are left with second-rate products and first-rate bills.
This is not support. It is systemic economic abuse enabled by a lack of accountability, and justified by the empty language of reconciliation.
What makes all of this even more disappointing for us, as Reconciliation South Australia, is that many of these businesses have Reconciliation Action Plans (RAPs). These plans are supposed to guide institutions toward genuine relationships, respect, and opportunities with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
In fact, we have worked with some of these companies in the past, delivering workshops and more, and we see the individuals laying the groundwork, and know it must be just as disappointing for them.
But when a company signs secret resource deals on Country, or exploits vulnerable customers in remote communities, their RAP becomes meaningless. It is no longer a tool for change, it becomes a shield to deflect criticism. A brand exercise. A piece of strategic marketing.
This is the definition of tokenism.
RAPs are meant to be living commitments, backed by measurable actions and cultural accountability. When companies continue to cause harm while boasting about their RAPs, they betray the very spirit of reconciliation. Worse, they make it harder for the public to distinguish between those who are genuine and those who are performative, eroding trust across the board.
If corporations and governments want to prove their commitment to reconciliation, they must go beyond the symbolism and commit to structural change. That means:
Free, Prior, and Informed Consent for any project on or impacting Aboriginal lands.
First Nations-led decision-making, not “consultation” after the fact.
Independent oversight of corporate conduct in Indigenous communities.
Transparency in all agreements, including public access to RAP outcomes, community benefit statements, and environmental impacts.
Funding First Nations organisations to do the work non-Indigenous consultants are getting paid to do without cultural accountability.
Reconciliation is not a brand. It is not a box to tick. It is a living commitment to justice, one that requires power-sharing, truth-telling, and accountability.
Corporations like Good Advice, Telstra, and Optus cannot continue to profit from First Nations issues while ignoring the consequences of their actions. They cannot wear the language of unity while deepening the divide.
If we want to move forward as a nation, then equity and integrity cannot be optional. They must be the standard, demanded by all of us, and lived out by those who claim to lead.
Until then, reconciliation remains a promise unfulfilled and for many First Nations people, just another word used to cover up exploitation.