I recently returned home to my community of Borroloola, in the remote Gulf region of the Northern Territory.
It’s home to around 900 people including the Yanyuwa, Garrawa, Marra and Gudanji peoples.
Residents in Borroloola face health challenges that are all too common among First Nations people, including diabetes and kidney disease.
And like residents in other remote communities, they have to travel long distances for health care and treatment.
During my visit, I was pleased to announce the Albanese Government is investing $13.5 million for a multi-purpose community development in Borroloola that will include a renal dialysis clinic.
It’s one of 30 dialysis units rolling out across the country as part of the government’s $73.2 million investment in Better Renal Services for First Nations Peoples.
The first of these clinics opened in June this year in the remote outback town of Coober Pedy in South Australia, and we recently announced three more units for remote Western Australia and Queensland, including Badu Island in the Torres Strait.
A new renal facility in Borroloola means kidney disease patients will no longer have to relocate to Darwin or Katherine for life-saving treatment.
But to Close the Gap in health outcomes between First Nations people and our fellow Australians we need to tackle the underlying issues at the heart of chronic disease in remote communities.
We all know that poor nutrition is linked to illnesses such as diabetes, which can lead to kidney disease.
Indigenous adults are twice as likely as non-Indigenous Australians to have chronic kidney disease and almost four times as likely to die from the condition.
Central Australia has one of the highest rates of amputations in the country due to conditions like diabetes.
In many cases, diabetes can be managed, if not prevented, through diet.
That’s why it is vitally important we improve food security for remote First Nations communities, to ensure they have consistent access to fresh, nutritious and affordable food.
Currently, access is limited with supply chains vulnerable to disruption by extreme weather for up to 5 months of every year in some regions.
During the last wet season, Northern Territory communities cut off by flooded roads were paying $10 per kilo for air freight, adding $20 to the cost of delivering two litres of milk.
A recent investigation by the consumer advocacy group CHOICE found groceries in some remote First Nations communities cost more than double than in capital cities.
To address some of these issues, I recently hosted a Food Security Industry Roundtable in Canberra with food manufacturers and producers, remote retailers, health experts and the competition watchdog, to consider options to improve access and affordability.
It was the first time stakeholders in the remote supply chain have come together to identify food security solutions for people in our most isolated communities.
I was pleased to hear a willingness from manufacturers to work with remote community store retailers to provide essential items at a cost no more than the price offered to major supermarket chains.
Our government is also working with First Nations health organisations and state and territory governments to deliver a National Strategy for Food Security in Remote First Nations Communities, to improve prices, quality and availability of food and other essential groceries.
The National Strategy is expected to be finalised early next year.
In the meantime, we’re investing $9.6 million to improve food security in remote communities through a Store Efficiency and Resilience package.
We’ve worked with state and territory governments to identify remote community stores most in need of immediate support ahead of the upcoming emergency season.
Money will go towards expanding dry and refrigerated storage facilities, to withstand supply chain interruptions caused by extreme weather.
And installing backup power to allow continued trading when electricity supplies fail.
We also need long-term, sustainable solutions to improve food security in remote communities – which is what the National Strategy aims to do.
It requires all levels of government to work with First Nations organisations, communities and retailers to remove the roadblocks to cheaper, healthy food that promotes good health.
Working together, we can make a real impact on health outcomes.
We can reduce the number of people having to relocate hundreds of kilometres from their homes, from places like Borroloola, to receive lifesaving medical treatment.
Together, we can give First Nations people in remote communities the same opportunities as city folk to live healthy lives.