Twiggy’s good turn

Andrew Forrest seems to have a flair for the slightly amusing photo opportunity.

Earlier this year, we saw the mining tycoon – who is worth more than $4 billion – dressed up as a mining worker, protesting in Perth against the Federal Government’s resource rent tax.

Last night, there he was again on a profile piece on Seven Network’s Sunday Night program, on the back of a horse, trotting through the West Australian scrub with reporter Mike Monroe and reminiscing about life on the land.

But while we’re pretty sure Forrest spends more time in private jets than on the back of a horse these days, the story did make it clear that the period Forrest spent working on his family’s cattle station as a jackeroo was extremely formative.

More particularly, Forrest had the chance to work with Aboriginal workers on the cattle station, and particularly the head stockman on the property called Scotty Black, who Forrest counts as an important mentor.

“I was incredibly lucky in that I got to know Aboriginal people and the more you get to know them, the more you love them,” he told the program. “It also gave me an appreciation that Aboriginal people can do anything they turn their hand to.”

The experiences sparked a passion for helping indigenous Australians that has stuck with Forrest. While Forrest is still in the process of building the empire that he wants Fortescue Metals Group to become, he has also thrown himself into a number of indigenous causes.

One of those – Generation One – had a sort of formal launch last night (nicely timed with Twiggy’s profile, of course) when the group which Forrest founded broadcast a two minute address to the nation in the middle of television commercials last night.

The organisation is aimed at trying to close the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous people in one generation – 20 years – by helping indigenous people with training, education mentoring and jobs.

Twiggy have convinced a number of other very wealth Australians – including James Packer and Lindsay Fox – to back the initiative to create 50,000 jobs for indigenous Australians through companies such as Fortescue, Crown and Linfox. Other big employers like ANZ and BHP Billiton have also joined the program.

It’s a great idea and what makes it really work is Forrest’s level of commitment. It’s one thing for billionaires to donate money – let’s face it, the community expects nothing less – but it’s another for a wealthy person to become so involved in a well thought-out and constructive program.

Twiggy should be commended for his passion – and hey, looking just a touch silly on the back of a horse is a small price to pay for a great cause.