Ashleigh McGuire initiated Australia's first E-Petition EN10166, titled "Strengthening support for Aboriginal-owned businesses - Stop Black Cladding Practises". The petition targeted the practice of "black cladding"—where non-Indigenous entities manipulate or use tokenistic appointments to claim Indigenous ownership to unfairly access lucrative government procurement contracts and funding.
The Demands: It asked the House of Representatives to mandate independent audits, enforce stricter compliance metrics, and establish an independent Indigenous business support and advocacy body.
Parliamentary Presentation: Petition number:EN10166 The petition was presented to the House of Representatives on 17 August 2026 and its full terms appear in the Hansard for that day.
This keeps the operational flaws of the Indigenous Procurement Policy (IPP) under intense political scrutiny. Overlap with Existing 2026 IPP Reforms. The timing of this petition coincides with major policy friction. The federal government recently raised its Indigenous procurement target to 3% for the 2025–2026 financial year and introduced stricter criteria requiring businesses to prove at least 51% Indigenous ownership and control.
McGuire has emerged as a prominent advocate for corporate integrity in First Nations commerce. She made national headlines by launching the first E-Petition EN10166 to the Australian House of Representatives, demanding federal legislative action and independent forensic audits to eradicate "black cladding". Her core initiative aims to prevent non-Indigenous companies from exploiting loopholes to intercept multi-billion-dollar government tenders intended for authentic Indigenous businesses and communities.