Electricity Costs in Remote Aboriginal Communities

The Hon. C. BONAROS (15:07): Supplementary question: given the minister's response, will he also undertake to query any other related experiences involving food security and mobility since the introduction of mandatory prepayment, in addition to disconnections?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:08): I am happy to seek further information in relation to what the member has just raised. I do know that the issue of the reliability of electricity supply in the APY lands has been an issue for as long as I can remember. There are occasions when there is not electricity in one of either the main six communities or a couple of the smaller communities in the APY lands.

It's not only an issue for the storage of perishable foods in individual homes but in community stores that rely on electricity, with a card for people pay, but also to keep perishable food in the stores itself. It's an issue without any sort of obvious or easy solution for as long as I can remember, but I am happy to see if there are any reports of how the user-pays for electricity staged introduction has interacted with that issue as well.