Introduction by Croakey: At a time when the cost-of-living and global fuel crises are hitting remote communities, the Queensland Government has not extended funding to a scheme reducing freight costs to these communities in the State’s north.
Queensland Budget documents indicate that funding to the Remote Communities Freight Assistance Scheme will decrease from $29.4 million in 2025-26 to $4.4 million in 2026-27, according to experts on food security policies.
The move will have harmful impacts upon food security for communities, with consequences for health and wellbeing, they warn.
“We urgently call on the Crisafulli Government to work with the National Indigenous Australians Agency, Queensland Government departments and industry to collaborate with communities to co-design solutions that will bring genuine, sustained benefit through reducing the cost of healthy foods and essential items to the regions,” they write below.
Megan Ferguson, Bronwyn Fredericks, Eddie Miles, Emma Tonkin and Julie Brimblecombe write:
In 2024, the Queensland Government, under former Premier Steven Miles, implemented a significant cost-of-living measure for those living in areas of the state hardest hit by the cost of freight: the Northern Peninsula, Torres Strait and Gulf regions.
The recently implemented Remote Communities Freight Assistance Scheme aimed to reduce the impact of freight costs on consumer purchases of food and essential goods. The Scheme was introduced based on evidence of what can work to alleviate food insecurity and reduce hardship.
In response to feedback on the initial 5.2 percent subsidy, the Queensland Government soon lifted this to a discount of 20 percent on eligible essential goods, such as fruit and vegetables, bread, milk, meat and household items, applied at the register by participating, eligible businesses.
The Scheme was established with $10 million per year (indexed) for five years and was planned to continue until 2028 or until the total funding was exhausted.
Last week, the Crisafulli Government released the 2026-27 Queensland Budget documents. These papers indicate that the Scheme allocation will decrease from $29.4 million in 2025-26 to $4.4 million in 2026-27.
A footnote explains that: “The decrease is due to the Northern Peninsular store subsidy component temporarily increasing from 5.2% to 20% in 2024-25 which accelerated the utilisation of the available funding.”
This likely means that the initial funding is close to being exhausted, demonstrating the significant uptake by the regions.
The Scheme is available to eligible businesses in 17 local government areas in North Queensland. These areas include many of the remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Queensland. We have previously commended the Government on this welcome and long overdue relief, especially in remote communities.
Cost of food
Food costs in communities are impacted by several supply chain factors, including road and sea infrastructure, weather impacts, natural disasters, and that which this Scheme aims to address – the high cost of freight.
The cost of a healthy diet, coupled with low incomes commonly experienced in communities, directly impacts food security and diet quality, and impacts the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people now and into the future.
The Queensland Government, through Health and Wellbeing Queensland, has re-established monitoring diet cost and affordability across the state.
In 2023, the cost of a healthy diet was approximately one-third more expensive in remote areas of Queensland than in non-remote areas. In 2024, the cost of a healthy diet remained similar in non-remote areas to 2023. However in remote areas, a healthy diet was 24 percent cheaper in 2024 compared to 2023.
It is likely that much of this healthy food price equity is a result of the Queensland Government’s Scheme.
The Queensland Government Scheme is a significant cost-of-living measure. The value of the discount is in line with international guidelines and evidence for public health outcomes, if it were limited to healthy foods.
Calls to action
We call on the Crisafulli Government to continue to fund the subsidy. If costs need to be cut, the Government could limit the subsidy to healthy foods and essential items.
We also urge the Government to invest in supply chain measures that will ultimately reduce the need for the Scheme.
The National Indigenous Australians Agency launched a comprehensive National Strategy for Food Security in Remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities in 2025. The Strategy outlines the goal of efficient and resilient supply chains in minimising the impact of remoteness on the cost, in addition to availability and quality of products in remote stores.
We urgently call on the Crisafulli Government to work with the National Indigenous Australians Agency, Queensland Government departments and industry to collaborate with communities to co-design solutions that will bring genuine, sustained benefit through reducing the cost of healthy foods and essential items to the regions.
Achieving healthy food price equity in regional Queensland is an important measure to advancing all of Queensland.
Surely all Queenslanders deserve equitable access to healthy food and the positive impacts it can have on health outcomes.
Author details
Associate Professor Megan Ferguson is a Research Fellow at the University of Queensland. Megan has a long history working in partnership with remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in addressing food security and food environments, particularly supporting the use of local evidence to inform organisational and public policy.
Professor Bronwyn Fredericks is an Indigenous woman from SE Qld, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement) at the University of Queensland. She is also a theme lead in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures. Bronwyn has a long history of working with the tertiary sector, governments, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-based organisations. As part of this she was appointed Commissioner presiding over the Queensland Inquiry into Service Provision in Discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, including remote stores. She is Chair of Croakey Health Media.
Eddie Miles is from the Warlpiri and Gurindji people. Eddie has significant experience based in the remote retail sector and in food security and food environment research, in supporting Aboriginal Store Director leadership in their businesses and driving their research priorities.
Dr Emma Tonkin is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Queensland and Monash University with a background in nutrition and dietetics. Emma works alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers and remote communities to gain insight into the histories and structural complexities, in particular food environments and food systems, that contribute to the health outcomes experienced by remote community members.
Professor Julie Brimblecombe is a Professor at Monash University, and has a long history working in partnership with remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in addressing food security and food environments, particularly in responding to Indigenous-led organisation’s research priorities.
Questions for Queensland Government
Croakey has sent the following questions to Treasurer David Janetzki, and the Minister for Transport and Main Roads, Brent Mickelberg.
The budget for the Remote Communities Freight Assistance Scheme this year is $4.4 million, compared to $29.4 million last year. This is despite evidence showing it has had a meaningful impact for remote communities.
In 2024, at the same time the Scheme increased to 20 percent, the Queensland Government showed through its state-wide price monitoring that the price of healthy diets was similar in remote areas compared to non-remote areas. Whilst this is a significant improvement in affordability in the regions, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote communities are still likely to be experiencing food stress.
Q: Does the Government accept that this funding decision will have significant impact upon the health and wellbeing of people in remote communities by undermining their food security?
Q: Has the Government considered the impact upon the Queensland Government’s responsibilities under the National Closing the Gap Agreement?
Q: Will the Queensland Government continue the Scheme, with a focus on healthy food and essential items, until the supply chain factors impacting the cost of healthy food and essential items can be sustainably improved?
Q: What action will the Queensland Government take to address supply chain factors?
Q: Will the Government work with the NIAA, state government departments and industry, and with communities to design and implement supply chain measures that impact freight costs, as outlined in the National Strategy for Food Security in Remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities?
• Croakey will publish any responses from the Queensland Government.
See Croakey’s archive of articles on food security
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