Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator. Every wet season, some remote communities have road access cut off by floodwaters. Communities like Yarralin had its supply chains cut off for months. Stores were paying $10 per kilo for air freight, adding $20 to the cost of delivering two litres of milk. The Albanese Labor government is investing $9.6 million to improve food security for First Nations people in remote communities.

The Store Efficiency and Resilience Package will support upgrades for more than 15 remote stores to ensure a reliable supply of nutritious food and essential groceries. We've worked with state and territory governments to identify the remote community stores most in need of immediate support. Funding will support increased storage capacity for both dry and refrigerated stock so stores can better manage supply chain interruptions, and the funding will also support stores to install backup power stations to save perishable stock and allow continued trading when power supplies fail. (Time expired)