Kimberley businesses dealing with thousands of dollars in freight hikes in the wake of catastrophic flooding may be declined subsidies if a bureaucrat does not deem their goods to be "essential".
The disaster has caused extensive damage to the only sealed highway through the Kimberley, isolating the townships of Derby and Fitzroy Crossing.
Goods being freighted from Perth to the East Kimberley, which includes Wyndham, Kununurra and Halls Creek, now have to detour through South Australia and the Northern Territory.
Centurion chief executive Justin Cardaci told the ABC that the trucking company had broadly doubled its freight fees to cover the extra 4,500 kilometres, across the return journey.
"What we're doing with a lot of our customers is making sure we're consolidating as much as possible to limit that cost impact," he said.
Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) Commissioner Darren Klemm said subsidies would be calculated by the cost of additional kilometres on a proposed route.
"This is capped at 100 per cent based on the normal cost of road transport in the Kimberley region or 150 per cent based on the normal cost of road transport to Derby, Fitzroy Crossing and Halls Creek," he said.
"Additional road freight costs incurred travelling through SA and the NT are around 120 per cent, which demonstrates these parameters are appropriate."
An application's success boils down to whether a DFES incident controller decides the goods, at that present time, are "essential" to the region.
But no detail had been provided on the general categories of items likely to be classified essential, leaving many businesses to guess at what would be covered.
Mr Klemm said there was no timeline on the subsidy scheme and payments would be processed within a week.
Mechanic's freight bill for car parts soars
Kununurra mechanic Luke Robinson said his freight bill had doubled, after already steep rises in the past year due to inflation.
"Freight delays and then freight costs are through the roof. They were already expensive enough," he said.
While Mr Robinson argued his business provided an essential service — given he often fixed emergency service vehicles — he worried the government would take a different view.
"Essential services … police … we try and keep them moving," he said.
"I think at the end of the day they'll say 'well you're only there providing a service as a mechanic mate, it's not the end of the world', but someone's got to pay for it."
Emma Tierney has represented several Halls Creek businesses, including the local supermarket and white goods store, in talks with the state government and transport companies over the subsidies.
Ms Tierney said a freight company would most likely claim the subsidy on behalf of those businesses and she expected food and white goods to be covered.
She urged residents not to expect any price hikes for those items.
"The transparency that's coming available is that we'll be fully covered, and the cost won't be going back to supply chains or the customers," she said.
Fruit and vegetable exporter's margins narrow
The subsidy scheme does not cover those dealing with freight hikes as they send goods out of the Kimberley to Perth.
Chris Robinson runs ORIA Orchards in Kununurra, producing a range of fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers for the Kimberley and Perth markets.
He has reassessed plans to transport fruit to WA's south, after his freight costs doubled.
"It just means we've got to be far more careful and on the ball with what we're sending, otherwise you get to the point where things become unviable and you start losing money," he said.
"Limes will become extremely marginal, so we probably won't be sending limes out of Kununurra into Perth."
Government to probe price gouging allegations
Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said he was troubled by claims of price gouging emerging from East Kimberley communities.
"There's a sense that prices on the ground in Kununurra have risen significantly; that should not be happening, so we'll investigate that," Mr Dawson said.
"People should be paying similar prices for their food, their fruit and veggies, as they are now, noting that the state is subsidising freight to get there."
Beyond food, he said items such as food, white goods and household equipment had already been deemed essential, with all businesses supplying them locally eligible for subsidies.
The supply of alcohol and cigarettes, however, would not be subsidised.
While not aware of Luke Robinson's specific concerns, Mr Dawson believed mechanics would and should be supported by the subsidies.
"We need cars moving, we need trucks moving, we need volunteer vehicles being used moving," he said.
"We want to make sure no-one misses out."
He urged local businesses with any concerns to contact DFES directly.
Road damage to take months to fix
Authorities warn it will be months before road trains can drive across the Kimberley using Great Northern Highway.
Main Roads operations director Peter Sewell said work would soon start on a side track around parts of the highway which had washed away between Broome and Derby.
Meantime, Main Roads are due to decide this week whether the Fitzroy Crossing bridge will need to be rebuilt.
"(If that occurs) clearly it's going to have to be a little longer and a little higher," Mr Sewell said.
"Our initial thoughts will be around $250-million."
He said a temporary crossing may also be installed over the Fitzroy River at Fitzroy Crossing.
The government has also flagged the Gibb River Road to the north of Fitzroy Crossing and former cattle tracks to the south as potential alternate freight routes.
