Minister for Indigenous Australians
Subjects: Low-Cost Essentials Subsidy Scheme, National Agreement on Closing the Gap, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Gallery of Australia, Yipirinya School.
Stewart brash, HOST: A promise and initiative announced by Labor in the lead-up to the last federal election, back then the Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy announced the cost of 30 essential items in community stores would be subsidised so prices were comparable to prices in urban areas. The expected savings for remote consumers was supposed to be up to 50%. So far, more than 50 Northern Territory remote stores have accessed the scheme, the Low-Cost Essentials Subsidy Scheme. Food items that have been made cheaper include tinned veges, canned fruit, rice, along with everyday items like nappies and toilet paper. The scheme is administered by the NIAA and delivered by Outback Stores. At the time of the announcement, small wholesalers in Alice and Darwin warned the scheme would deliver a monopoly to Outback Stores and potentially make their businesses, many owned by Aboriginal organisations, far more marginal. I spoke earlier to the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, and asked her why, given the 50 stores which have signed up, why more had not joined up to the program.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: Well, there has to be an agreement about how they want to carry the goods. They have to have the agreement through NIAA and Outback Stores. Those agreements may have already been met, which I may just not be aware of it at the moment with those Northern Territory stores. I think it's fantastic though, Stewart, that since the announcement in July that we've now got 50 in the Northern Territory and I do thank those stores for participating but also those stores that are still wanting to come online.
Stewart brash: Is that because, you mentioned the National Code for Practice for Remote Store Operations, there's three standards, three key areas they need to meet; governance, operations and health. So, is that the need to meet those standards? Is that stopping some stores getting on board?
