Rugby twins Saia and Anthony Fainga’a have big plans for labour hire firm Moonyah Workforce

Saia and Anthony Fainga’a defied the odds to become Wallabies. Now the twins are taking on the business world with the same determination and have big plans for their labour hire firm.

Twin brothers Saia and Anthony Fainga’a grew up in a pub never dreaming they would one day represent their country in rugby.

The sons of a Queanbeyan hotel security guard defied the odds becoming Wallabies and also playing for the Brumbies and Queensland Reds.

With their football career behind them, the brothers now have set themselves another challenge to become the first founders of an Indigenous-owned company to list on the ASX.

A year ago the Fainga brothers founded Moonyah Workforce, an Indigenous owned labour hire firm specialising in traffic control and waste management.

With offices in Brisbane and Perth, the brothers have a client list that includes Cleanaway, Rino Recycling and Austek Asphalt Services with more than 200 workers on their books.

They have already provided labour on major projects including the Pacific Highway upgrade and Yatala South interchange.

Saia and Anthony, who are Bundjalung men, paid tribute to their parents who gave them the values that allowed them to succeed, firstly in professional sport and now in business. Moonyah means ‘safe house’ in the Bundjalung language.

Saia and Anthony Fainga’a have big plans for their labour hire firm.

“As blackfellas growing up, people were always saying we would never play for the Wallabies,” Saia says. “But you need someone to believe in and for us that was our family.”

With their grandmother a member of the Stolen Generation, the brothers knew what it was to grow up in tough times – as children they would help out their parents by cleaning up after pub patrons. Anthony says his late father Saia Snr stressed the need to build up their finances following their football careers.

The brothers followed that advice investing in property and real estate developments. Their financial position has allowed them to expand Moonyah Workforce despite the challenges posed by Covid-19 shutdowns. “It has been a difficult year because of all the labour shortages but we are getting through it all,” says Anthony.

“We don’t care if doors are closed, we’ll keep knocking and waiting on more doors until they open. Just like with rugby, nothing was given to us and we worked for everything.”

The brothers, who started playing rugby at the age of 14, say they like the labour hire business because it was about people and relationships.

Wallabies twins Anthony, right, and Saia Fainga at a signing session at Westfield Parramatta.

“We recently signed up a young Indigenous guy and when he told us his father was going to be driving him to and from work, we asked if his dad had a job,” Saia says. “When he said no, we got in touch with the employer and they agreed to take him on. It is providing solutions like that makes us really proud of what we do.”

Saia stresses the company exists to provide opportunities for all without discrimination. “It doesn’t matter where you come from or what your background is,” he says. “We are happy to give you a chance to better yourself, to be employed and feed your family.”

Anthony says the next decade looks bright for the firm particularly with the Brisbane Olympics that is set to fuel a boom in infrastructure spending.

“We want to list this company and we want it to be a company that mum and dads want to invest in,” he says. “Everyone thinks we are crazy but they also thought we were crazy when we were living in a pub and said we wanted to play for the Wallabies.”

TAKING OFF

The welcome mat is being rolled out to business travellers at Gold Coast Airport as final preparations are made to open a $260 million expansion over the next two months.

The three-level terminal expansion, which is part of a $500 million investment in the airport precinct, includes new passenger facilities, enhanced security zones and glass aerobridges while also doubling passenger capacity.

Queensland Airports chief executive Amelia Evans says the redevelopment will allow the airport to increase its flight connections.

“Business travel is well and truly back at Gold Coast Airport, and we’re building our capacity for more,” Evans says.

“Passengers will continue to have an efficient and easy transit through the airport and there will be refreshed offerings with new cafes and shops to experience.”

In total, there will be 18 new food and beverage and retail outlets between the new and existing terminal areas by the middle of next year.

The complete suite of domestic connections available through Gold Coast Airport has been re- established, with about 30 return flights daily to both Sydney and Melbourne.

Various Asian routes are expected to re-start in coming months, following services to Singapore and the New Zealand cities of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown.

Amelia Evans at Gold Coast Airport

FITSTOP EXPANDING

Brisbane-based gym franchise Fitstop is partnering with the Vytality Group to open a further 80 locations across NSW.

The expansion will add to the 160 new locations in the pipeline for this financial year, well ahead of the franchise’s annual forecast.

The homegrown athlete-inspired fitness franchise, which was launched in 2017 by founder and chief executive Peter Hull, has continued to attract high-profile athletes including former Wallaby Dane Haylett-Petty, former All Black Halfback Brendon Leonard and an exclusive partnership with the Gold Coast Titans.

Hull, started the company nine years ago with his wife Rebecca, in the garage of his parents home in Mt Cotton, southeast of Brisbane, launching their first franchise in Morningside.

Last year, one of the world’s largest fitness franchise companies Lift Brands secured a 30 per cent share in Fitstop in a strategic partnership.

Lift Brands is the parent company to global fitness brands, Snap Fitness, 9 Round, Fitness on Demand and YogaFit. The organisation has over 1500 clubs globally with another 300 in development across Asia Pacific.

“Our franchisee business has grown 60 per cent this financial year,” says Hull. “Many of our new business owners have quit corporate careers, moved locations and lives to follow their business ownership dreams in health and fitness.”

Clients workout at Fitstop Aspley.

TURNING TEN

Brisbane startup incubator River City Labs (RCL) is turning 10 next week with a shindig planned at Cloudland to celebrate the landmark occasion.

River City Labs founder Steve Baxter as well as the incubator’s successful startup alumni, including unicorn Go1, will talk about the role of the organisation in developing the city’s now burgeoning startup eco-system. Since 2012, more than 700 startup founders have called River City Labs home, with the venue hosting over 1,000 events.

In 2018, RCL was acquired by Australian Computer Society, The Professional Association of Information and Computer Technology, bringing a fresh set of ideas to support the growth of Brisbane startups.

Baxter, a serial entrepreneur who rose to fame on Shark Tank, describes starting River City Labs as “one of the most fulfilling things I’ve done’’ but it required a change of ownership to drive it to that proverbial next level.

RCL’s first home was in a cramped office on Wickham Street in Fortitude Valley when there was effectively no support for aspiring tech entrepreneurs.

The big end of town eventually took notice, with the likes of Bank of Queensland, CUA, Suncorp and Telstra partnering on programs at various times.

“Beyond the headline figures, it’s the individual success stories of our startups that really show how far we’ve come,’’ Baxter says.

Tech guru Steve Baxter from River City Labs and Shark Tank