Food insecurity has led to terrible health outcomes for many people living in remote communities. The federal government says the first national food security strategy for Indigenous Australians will be released next year. People who live and work in western desert communities say they want the plan to include an emphasis on 'two-way' education and bush food.
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00:00It's dinner time at Dust Up in the Western Desert.
00:06This school carnival is one of the most remote in the country.
00:10Feeding all the participants is a massive job.
00:14We all do better when we've had something decent to eat.
00:17This caterer has been feeding everyone at Dust Up for years by tracking in more than
00:22a tonne of food from Perth.
00:24And these beautiful people out here have very limited access to fresh food and that's a
00:30scary thing.
00:31I'm here in remote Western Australia at the community of Warrakoona, which is about an
00:36hour's drive from the Northern Territory border.
00:39Food has to travel about 2000km from Perth to get here and by the time it arrives it's
00:44often not in great shape.
00:47The pandemic, the cost of living crisis and extreme weather events have compounded food
00:52security issues in remote communities, steering people towards cheaper, nutrient-poor foods.
00:59That's taking a terrible toll on health, with First Nations people having one of the highest
01:03rates of diabetes in the world and experiencing kidney failure at 20 times the rate of the
01:09wider population.
01:11The Federal Government plans to release its first national strategy for food security
01:15in remote communities next year.
01:18Researchers hope it will promote bush foods and access to community gardens and farms.
01:23The reason why our First Nations communities are so unwell is because they're not eating
01:27their traditional diet.
01:28We've got to change that.
01:31Daisy Jupandari Ward is a big believer in two-way learning, where children are taught
01:36Western education and traditional knowledge.
01:39That includes learning about bush foods.
01:43It could also help avoid a lot of heartache.
01:46We need to try and help young kids.
01:51And these people are now counting on the government to help make that a priority.