{"id":616296,"date":"2026-04-19T03:10:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T03:10:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/616296\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T03:10:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T03:10:37","slug":"remote-nt-communities-appeal-to-governments-for-fuel-security-assurances-price-relief-as-costs-soar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/616296\/","title":{"rendered":"Remote NT communities appeal to governments for fuel security assurances, price relief as costs soar"},"content":{"rendered":"

People in Australia’s most remote and vulnerable communities are calling for help to deal with the highest fuel and food prices in the country, as they soar amid the war in Iran.<\/p>\n

Since the war started, fuel prices have almost doubled<\/a> and food prices have jumped by about 10 per cent in many remote Northern Territory communities.<\/p>\n

Remote residents, including Sebastian Lee from the Central Arnhem Land community of Weemol, are appealing to the federal, state and territory governments for more financial assistance to cope.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Ranger Sebastian Lee is worried his remote community could run out of fuel. (Supplied: Mimal Land Management)<\/p>\n

“It’s very hard in the community, we’re in the middle of nowhere,” he said.<\/p>\n

“The fuel is more than $4 per litre now; it’s 400 kilometres to town in Katherine, it costs about $280 to fill the tank to get there now.”<\/p>\n

Mr Lee said food in the community’s store was already double city prices<\/a>, and groceries had become even more unaffordable in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The Arnhem Land Progress Association says its already had to pass on the higher costs suppliers are charging its stores. (ABC News: Jane Bardon)<\/p>\n

“Everything is going up and up \u2014 if you walk into the shop with $100, you come out with no change out of it,” he said.<\/p>\n

Mr Lee said he was even more concerned the global fuel crisis could lead to diesel shortages in his community, which would stop his Mimal ranger group from carrying out their annual bushfire mitigation work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Sebastian Lee is pictured performing a hazard reduction burn, which relies on fuel. (ABC News: Jane Bardon)<\/p>\n

He called on governments to make sure the community’s diesel power station doesn’t run out.<\/p>\n

“If that runs out, how are we going to get power?” he said.<\/p>\n

“We need the government to make sure we get fuel, and a little bit of dollars for the community.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Arnhem Land communities are worried their geographic isolation could spell trouble if fuel supplies run low nationally. (ABC News: Jane Bardon)<\/p>\n

Mimal Land Management chief executive Dominic Nicholls said the federal government should consider providing remote communities with more help as a priority.<\/p>\n

“There is a real opportunity here to recognise the extreme gap that exists in Indigenous communities,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It would be sensible to support some of the poorest communities with [government relief] packages.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Mimal ranger Sebastian Lee is worried his team may not be able to secure enough fuel to carry out bushfire mitigation work. (ABC News: Jane Bardon)<\/p>\n

Food prices expected to keep rising<\/p>\n

The community’s nearest grocery store in Bulman is run by Outback Stores<\/a>, the federal government’s remote groceries company.<\/p>\n

The corporation told the ABC, while fuel price impacts on its stock had been “minimal” so far, “continued upward pressure on fuel prices is expected to flow through in the coming weeks, and price adjustments may become necessary”.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Remote communities run on diesel, with calls for the federal government to ensure enough of it is getting trucked out. (ABC News: Ed Gannon)<\/p>\n

Alastair King is chief executive of the Arnhem Land Progress Association (ALPA), which runs 27 stores across remote NT and Queensland \u2014 he said ALPA had spent “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to absorb increased transport prices for its groceries.<\/p>\n

Despite this, he said the organisation was having to pass on its grocery suppliers’ higher prices of up to 10 per cent, and increase some of its remote diesel bowser costs to $4.40 per litre.<\/p>\n

\"Alastair<\/p>\n

Alastair King wants the federal government’s help to make sure grocery stores in remote communities remain stocked. (ABC News: Jane Bardon)<\/p>\n

Mr King is also appealing to the federal government to provide remote communities with extra support.<\/p>\n

“We would like to see more support,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Particularly for our sea freight providers, because some of the relief already being offered for road transport doesn’t help them, and they are an important part of our supply chain.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Alastair King is worried remote NT fuel supplies, trucking and barging operations could suffer as a result of ongoing conflict overseas. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)<\/p>\n

Barging company Sea Swift \u2014 which transports groceries to many of northern Australia’s remote communities \u2014 said it had applied a “temporary fuel levy” to its remote freight services, because “like other businesses, we can’t absorb the rising costs at this time”.<\/p>\n

The company said it had contacted the federal and state and territory governments “to see what assistance they can provide, as well as ensuring we continue to remain a priority for fuel during this difficult time”.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Sea Swift said it will have to start charging more for remote freight. (ABC News: Jane Bardon)<\/p>\n

Central Land Council (CLC) general manager Josie Douglas said her team was lobbying the federal government to increase welfare payments for remote NT residents.<\/p>\n

“We’re calling on the federal government to urgently increase the Remote Area Allowance,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“This is the most straightforward way to offer real cost-of-living support.”<\/p>\n

Federal Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said, having heard the concerns from remote communities, she would also lobby her colleagues.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

ALPA subsidises the freight costs on its fruit and vegetables.\u00a0 (ABC News: Jane Bardon)<\/p>\n

“The land councils, particularly in the Northern Territory, have raised this with me, in terms of the Remote Area Allowance,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I will certainly be taking that back to Canberra, and speaking with my colleagues.”<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Malarndirri McCarthy says she will lobby her colleagues. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)<\/p>\n

Fuel shortage concerns<\/p>\n

Leaders of Indigenous organisations say they are concerned remote communities will suffer most if Australian fuel shortages become severe.<\/p>\n

Among them is Mr King.<\/p>\n

Can you trust these online fuel supply trackers?<\/a><\/p>\n

An ABC NEWS Verify investigation raises questions about popular independent fuel security dashboards that have emerged online, including one whose creators are linked to the Liberal Party.<\/p>\n

“I am really worried, because when the prime minister starts going out overseas to try to shore up supply<\/a>, the government must be worried about something,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I know it’s a national problem, and I get that, but sometimes they can forget about the bush.”<\/p>\n

Mr King said ALPA had stocked up its stores with as much as they could hold, with the organisation trying to keep its remote bowsers topped up with petrol and diesel.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Alastair King says his organisation has stocked its stores up as much as possible, in case Australia’s fuel supply starts to run short. (ABC News: Jane Bardon)<\/p>\n

Ms Douglas called on the government to prioritise its fuel needs in the same way it had already done for emergency services and farmers.<\/p>\n

The CLC manager said she was worried fuel shortages would have dire consequences for remote Territorians.<\/p>\n

“It’ll be catastrophic for Aboriginal people in remote communities because they are 100 per cent reliant on diesel for power, water supply and food, so we would like to see them very high on the priority list,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Josie Douglas fears fuel shortages could have catastrophic consequences. (ABC News: Xavier Martin)<\/p>\n

Power and Water Corporation (PWC) said it was “continuing to work with our fuel supply partners” to make sure it can keep supplying the NT’s 57 remote power stations.<\/p>\n

“Due to the remote nature of many of the communities we serve, our regular operating model includes having advance fuel reserves for supply to remote communities,” PWC said in a statement to the ABC.<\/p>\n

Mr Nicholls said he remained hopeful Australia would be able to buy its way out of any severe supply shortages.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Dominic Nicholls wants the federal government to make sure remote communities are a priority. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)<\/p>\n

But he also appealed to the federal government to make sure remote communities did not miss out.<\/p>\n

“Australia has the wealth and strength in the market to be able to buy fuel, as long as we accept that we’ll have to pay a higher price and chase it fairly hard,” he said.<\/p>\n

“So there’s really no excuse for letting small, remote and other vulnerable groups slip off the radar.<\/p>\n

“It’s going to fall to governments to really be clear, so that people feel assured that the power will stay on.”<\/p>\n

\"Small<\/p>\n

Increased grocery costs are being passed on by suppliers, through the ALPA, to residents in remote communities. (ABC News: Jane Bardon)<\/p>\n

Senator McCarthy said she was advocating with her cabinet colleagues to make sure remote community needs were prioritised.<\/p>\n

“We’re already considering remote regions as absolutely critical,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I’m certainly making sure my colleagues know very much what is going on in remote Australia.”<\/p>\n

The NT government has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"People in Australia’s most remote and vulnerable communities are calling for help to deal with the highest fuel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":616297,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[8870,64,63,280236,2610,299081,260914,279222,130870,299080,194269,61862,72272,12619,37625,44,299079,130869],"class_list":{"0":"post-616296","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-australia","8":"tag-arnhem-land","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-cost-of-fuel","12":"tag-cost-of-living","13":"tag-diesel-cost","14":"tag-diesel-prices","15":"tag-food-costs","16":"tag-fuel-prices","17":"tag-fuel-relief","18":"tag-global-conflict","19":"tag-government-support","20":"tag-grocery-prices","21":"tag-isolated","22":"tag-isolation","23":"tag-news","24":"tag-nt-remote-communities","25":"tag-petrol-prices"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=616296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616296\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/616297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=616296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=616296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=616296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}