{"id":648153,"date":"2026-05-04T02:58:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T02:58:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/648153\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T02:58:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T02:58:19","slug":"essential-services-and-cultural-events-scaled-back-in-remote-communities-due-to-cost-of-fuel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/648153\/","title":{"rendered":"Essential services and cultural events scaled back in remote communities due to cost of fuel"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you thought fuel prices were high in the capital cities, residents in some of Australia’s most remote communities are still paying up to $4 for a litre of diesel.<\/p>\n

Yindjibarndi woman Rachel Samson, who lives in Roebourne, 1,500 kilometres north of Perth, said she has had to drastically reduce her driving.<\/p>\n

“If I don’t have enough fuel for the car, I walk to work,” she said.<\/p>\n

The war in the Middle East has sent fuel costs skyrocketing, and while federal government intervention has seen prices drop in the nation’s capital cities, there has been little relief in remote towns.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Rachel Samson says $100 is no longer enough to fill her tank. (ABC News: Mietta Adams)<\/p>\n

The price of fuel in Roebourne remains around $3 per litre, and Ms Samson said it was stopping community members participating in important cultural events, like sorry business, which often involves driving hundreds of kilometres.<\/p>\n

“If there was sorry business in Onslow, I wouldn’t take my car \u2014 I don’t think it would make it that far,” she said.<\/p>\n

“It chews up a lot of petrol and it’s just too much.”<\/p>\n

She said people would continue to struggle if the prices do not go down soon.<\/p>\n

\"Pat<\/p>\n

Nyikina woman Pat Riley says residents in her community were forced to miss out on important events due to high fuel costs. (ABC News: Michael Atkin)<\/p>\n

Further north of Roebourne, at Pandanus Park Community, diesel is $4 a litre and chairperson Patricia Riley said people were also being forced to miss funerals and other significant events.<\/p>\n

“It affected us a lot, especially as a remote mob, because a lot of us still practice our culture,” she said.<\/p>\n

“We don’t have the dollars to fill our car up with a full tank to go to another community and then come back.”Food prices higher<\/p>\n

In the Western Desert community of Kunawarritji, the cost of a recent food delivery truck, which had to drive 17 hours, cost an additional $5,000 due to fuel price rises.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Fewer tourists are passing through the Kunawarritji community and buying from the store. (Supplied: Jarni Blakkarly)<\/p>\n

But the reduction of tourists along the popular Canning Stock Route, which spans 2,000 kilometres in northern WA, has meant less people are buying from the community’s store.<\/p>\n

“The fuel price has gone up, so the store has to recover the costs from the transport, so it’s a bit of an issue there,” Kunawarritji CEO Chris Flood said.<\/p>\n

“Tourism is a major part of Kunuaraitji and you only have it a few months of the year.”<\/p>\n

Jobs on the line<\/p>\n

Fuel is also impacting the future employment of Martu people in Kunawarritji and other remote East Pilbara communities.<\/p>\n

Non-for-profit organisation Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa (KJ) general manager Tim Schneider said 500 Martu people were employed through the ranger program, but fuel prices were threatening its viability.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Tim Schneider says ranger programs offer essential incomes for Martu people. (Supplied: Tim Schneider\u00a0)<\/p>\n

“If we have to slow down the program significantly, then Martu employment will drop \u2026 and people won’t have the money in their pocket to buy the essential items,” he said.<\/p>\n

There could also be”serious ramifications” for the next fire season if rangers can not burn parts of the 13.6 million hectares of land they look after, he said.<\/p>\n

Legal services wound back<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Aboriginal Family Legal Services CEO Corina Martin said workers had been asked to limit their travel to communities that could be reached using a single tank of fuel.<\/p>\n

The not-for-profit organisation delivers outreach services to remote communities across WA, providing legal support and community education.<\/p>\n

Remote communities vulnerable to global fuel crisis<\/a><\/p>\n

Remote communities’ reliance on diesel fuel for power leaves them vulnerable in a global crisis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ms Martin said the fuel crisis had already led to increased isolation and financial pressures and would have a “profound impact” on remote communities if it continued.<\/p>\n

“For the clients out in these regions, if they are going through domestic violence, it reduces the ability for them to leave the community or escape,” she said.<\/p>\n

Back in Kunawarritji, Mr Schneider said remote communities were often “out of mind and out of sight”, and said he hoped the government would support organisations delivering essential services to communities.<\/p>\n

“They’re some of the most vulnerable people in these communities,” he said.<\/p>\n

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