Remote First Nations communities warn fuel crisis could cut access to health, funerals and essential services

Remote First Nations communities are warning that Australia’s escalating fuel disruption and price spikes risk severing access to essential services, with local operators saying they may no longer be able to absorb the cost of keeping petrol affordable.

In many remote areas, fuel is already significantly more expensive than in major cities. Community leaders say the latest surge is pushing households and local organisations beyond breaking point, with flow-on impacts for transport, freight and service delivery.

Djarindjin Aboriginal Corporation CEO Nathan McIvor said the consequences are immediate and deeply practical: “They miss out on health appointments, they miss out on being able to get to funerals and other things.”

Djarindjin, around 170 kilometres north of Broome on the Dampier Peninsula, operates the only petrol bowser in the community. McIvor said the organisation currently subsidises fuel to keep prices closer to urban areas… but that approach is becoming harder to sustain amid ongoing volatility.

“Most people living in remote communities are already living on the poverty line” he said. “We try to subsidies as much as we possibly can … but the bottom line is we have to be good stewards of the money we’ve got and we have to take care of our businesses.”

Federal Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has urged Australians to stop panic buying, arguing it is worsening local shortages. “People going to Bunnings and buying out all the … jerry cans – that is unhelpful. That is un-Australian” he said.

In response to tightening supply and rising global prices, Bowen announced temporary changes to fuel standards aimed at bringing additional volumes into the country and directing supply to areas of shortage. “The government has been unequivocal – this additional supply must help the people who need it, including farmers, fishers and regional communities” he said.

The ACCC has also increased scrutiny of fuel pricing and supply, warning retailers it expects clear explanations for price spikes and signalling it is prepared to act. “The petrol industry should be under no illusions. We will act decisively and to the fullest extent of the law” ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said.

For remote communities, leaders say the larger issue is resilience: ensuring regional and remote Australia is not left without the “buffers” needed when global shocks hit.