The University of Notre Dame Australia's Nulungu Research Institute has partnered with Indigenous-led organisation Original Power and the University of Western Sydney to launch The Right to Power, Australia's first national report into the impact of prepayment electricity systems on First Nations communities.
The landmark report reveals that over 15,000 First Nations households rely on prepayment power meters, which often result in immediate disconnections when credit runs out. In one year alone, 440,000 disconnection events were recorded across 8,878 households in Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland, averaging 49 disconnections per household annually.
Prepayment systems often force families to ration power, regularly leaving them to choose between cooling their homes or keeping food fresh. As highlighted in a recent SBS News feature on prepaid energy hardship, filmed on the Dampier Peninsula north of Broome, households in remote Western Australian communities face daily struggles to maintain power, with costs soaring during summer heatwaves.
Lloyd Pigram, Yawuru Bardi man and Research Fellow at Nulungu, said the disconnections have a severe impact on health, food security and wellbeing, particularly during extreme heat events.
"Our research amplifies the voices of communities who have lived with this crisis for years. It's time for governments and energy providers to act," Mr Pigram said.
The report provides six key recommendations for Federal, State and Territory governments to improve energy security and affordability for First Nations households.
With a sustained focus on Kimberley communities, Nulungu is committed to exploring solutions to energy inequality, which would provide improved outcomes for Indigenous Australians in remote communities across the country.
The report was launched earlier this month via an online event featuring representatives from Original Power, Nulungu, Tangentyere Aboriginal Corporation, Jabalbina Aboriginal Corporation, Western Sydney University and Energy Consumers Australia.
"The Right to Power report highlights an unacceptable level of energy hardship that Indigenous communities in the Kimberley contend with constantly. On the basis of such indisputable evidence, the research team and clean energy advocates are now jointly pushing for reform in line with the report recommendations," said Dr Thorburn, Senior Research Fellow at Nulungu.
Original Power's The Right to Power report.
