This article is more than 4 months old

This article is more than 4 months old

Aboriginal people from remote communities in lockdown are risking prosecution under biosecurity laws to go into regional centres to buy food and essentials, because their community stores can’t source enough supplies.

A group of 13 Aboriginal organisations from across the Northern Territory is calling on the national cabinet to do more to guarantee food security for remote communities.

The coalition of health, housing, medical and legal groups says communities are still going without food and essentials such as baby food and toilet paper.

It wants the national cabinet to guarantee an agreed proportion of essentials will be set aside for the independent suppliers of community stores.

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“We are getting daily reports of remote stores struggling to supply basic goods. Some stores are running out of fresh food three days after their weekly delivery,” CEO of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the NT, John Paterson, said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Supplies dwindle at the only store servicing more than 400 people in a remote community west of Alice Springs. Photograph: Central land council/Supplied

The Central Land Council had heard of families travelling into Alice Springs because their store could not supply baby formula.

“We don’t encourage [traveling into town]. We are in very dangerous times right now, we are in danger of seeing a whole generation of people wiped out if we’re not careful, but we want to support people,” the Central Land Council chief executive, Joe Martin-Jard, said.

“The government can’t tell manufacturers what to do but they can work with us to get a result. They could set aside 2% of supplies, that’s not going to hurt,” he said.

Two weeks ago the minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, met with the big supermarkets; the NT chief minister, Michael Gunner; and community store operators to guarantee supply chains for the expected months-long duration of the Covid-19 lockdown.

At the time, Wyatt said there was a “lot of goodwill” to resolve the situation, and the group would meet again to “see how the goodwill is translated into outcomes.”

Martin-Jard said the meeting had triggered some action, such as the donation of 4,000 food boxes by Woolworths, but a long-term solution is needed as the crisis wears on.

“The meeting triggered ad hoc responses from those big players. That was welcomed, but we need a more systemic approach to this, rather than just relying on goodwill.

“The deputy prime minister [Michael McCormack] said last week there was no shortage of fruit and veg in Australia, but that’s in the southern states. What are we going to do about making sure that surplus of goods comes to our remote stores in central Australia?”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest This NT Aboriginal community storeroom in the western desert is usually full and meant to last weeks. Photograph: Supplied

The coalition said, on average, Aboriginal remote communities pay about 60% more for basic goods than people in regional and urban centres.

“In the 10 years to 2017, there has been a 38% increase in the price of goods in remote communities, versus 5% in regional towns,” the chief executive of Congress Aboriginal health organisation, Donna Ah Chee, said.

“We are in the best place in the country. Here in the NT we have not had a case in more than two weeks but we are going to be in this space for quite some time, which is why addressing food security is really important.

“Because the day we do get community transmission we all want to be very mindful of the potential devastating impact this could have on people in remote communities, who as we know have a higher burden of illness.

“So we cannot risk, even for very good reasons, our remote community people having to come into town in order to access essential items like meat, veg and blankets,” Ah Chee said.

The coalition wants a 20% point-of-sale subsidy of essential food, cleaning and hygiene products, as well as winter bedding and clothing.

“We urge the national cabinet to take action before it is too late, because time is all remote Aboriginal communities have on their side in their fight against the virus.

“We are all affected by this crisis, some more than others when it comes to accessing affordable food,” Ah Chee said.

Outback Stores, which operates 22 community stores in the NT, said its sales had grown by more than $6m over the past two weeks.

Outback stores and other remote retailers are part of a food security working group alongside federal, state and territory governments and major retailers Woolworths and Coles.

“Collective action is required to deal with the current pandemic and its impact on a reliable supply of essential goods and groceries to regional and remote Australia,” Outback stores chief executive, Michael Borg, said.

“We’ve seen an unprecedented growth in store sales reaching in excess of $6 million, and many manufacturers have been doing their bit to fill orders, but this additional national push for remote store distribution centres to take priority will help to keep food security strong.

“Without their ongoing support, remote stores will undoubtedly face significant challenges in the future.”

The minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, said food security has been “a high priority from the beginning” of the response to the pandemic, but has ruled out supporting a grocery subsidy or rebate.

Wyatt said his department – the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) – has contacted managers of more than 200 stores servicing Aboriginal communities across Australia to gain “an understanding of the supply status and where support needs to be directed”.

“While the government appreciates there are additional financial pressures associated with Covid-19, it does not support a direct subsidy or rebate on groceries at this time,” Wyatt said, citing the government’s “extensive economic support packages announced in March”.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is also monitoring for price gouging on essential products, he said.