Government doing something for Indigenous people not with them ...

The manager of an Outback Store in Wutunugurra admitted to ordering more fruit and vegetables than the community could consume in order to meet Outback Stores healthy food targets. Since they can always rely on federal funding, Outback Stores don’t have to worry about consequences such as bankruptcy for intentionally creating waste.

The Robinson River store is just one of a number of successfully run community stores. Another is the Bawinanga Good Food Kitchen, a take-away store in Maningrida. After recognising that residents enjoyed the convenience of pre-cooked food, Bawinanga Good Food Kitchen decided to sell healthy versions of the type of foods that the local residents want to eat (pre-cooked pies and gourmet pizzas.) The store does not inflate prices to make a large profit but simply aims to cover its costs. Its main role is to encourage residents to adopt healthier eating habits.

Instead of crowding out community initiatives by expanding the number of Outback Stores, the government should be looking at ways it can encourage and increase communities’ self-reliance.

To date $77 million in government funding has gone into Outback Stores - this seems an awful waste of resources and is surely not sustainable in the long term. Eventually the money is going to run out and what will happen to marginal stores managed by Outback Stores then?

If communities are encouraged to come up with their own solutions they are likely to be more permanent than those administered by government.

Having Outback Stores take over the day-to-day management of stores may be helpful in addressing some poor mismanagement practices but there should be a clear exit strategy which supports and trains local Indigenous people to become responsible for the management of their own stores.

Unfortunately Outback Stores’ promise to employ and train local Indigenous people to work in and eventually manage the stores has been slow to eventuate, with some submitters arguing that there are fewer local people employed in remote stores than there were before Outback Stores came along.

Without community engagement Outback Stores will be yet another example of government doing something for Indigenous people not with them.