Gulf of Carpentaria locals have long complained of high food prices in remote communities and now they can't wait for a federal parliamentary inquiry into the issue.
The inquiry will investigate food prices and food security in remote and Indigenous communities compared with those in the city, a move welcomed by Doomadgee residents in north-west Queensland.
Inquiry chairman Julian Leeser said consumer protection laws and regulators such as the ACCC would also be assessed for their effectiveness in regulating remote pricing.
"We want to know how much of this is just a supply to remoteness issue, and how much of this is regulatory failure," Mr Leeser said.
Long time coming
The Indigenous community of Doomadgee has one supermarket, which is run by Community Enterprise Queensland (CEQ), a statutory body of the Queensland Government.
The grocery store is one of two options for Doomadgee locals, with the local roadhouse also selling grocery items.
Prices in the Doomadgee supermarket are markedly higher than for the same goods in Mount Isa, 472km away.
In Doomadgee, a 500g packet of breakfast cereal Nutrigrain costs $9.99. At Mount Isa Woolworths it was $5.50.
A Smiths Chips snack mix of 20 small packets costs $13.95 in the remote community. Mount Isa residents can pick it up for $5.50.
One Doomadgee resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said the inquiry could not come soon enough.
"I've just paid $7 per kilogram for chicken breasts in Townsville, which are $13 a kilogram in Doomadgee, and you wouldn't mind paying the price, but its frozen," the person said.
The resident said food popular in Indigenous communities, like confectionary, long-life powdered milk and corned meat, were also far more expensive.
"I guess supply and demand, they can charge what they like for it," the local said.
Freight costs included
CEQ chief executive Ian Copeland said Doomadgee food prices were reasonable given the costs of freight, power, maintenance, staffing and repairs.
"CEQ is a not-for-profit organisation that receives no recurrent government funding, and as such our job is to be sustainable," Mr Copeland said.
"We welcome the inquiry into food pricing and food security and look forward to participating in the process."
The committee is due to report by October 30, with remote Indigenous residents and food suppliers urged to make submissions by the end of June.
