Far West NSW residents left short of milk for two weeks liken supply chain issues to living in ‘third world country’

Fresh milk is a staple in many people’s refrigerators, but for the Far West New South Wales town of Brewarrina, it went missing from households and businesses for close to two weeks at the end of September.

While the shortage was caused by a worker strike at the Bega Group Penrith site last month, not having enough food isn’t unusual for towns in the Far West.

Chandra Kollipara, the owner of Bourke’s SPAR supermarket, said communities in the region were “always at the end of the food chain”.

“They don’t care about us here,” she said.

“It’s frustrating. But what do we do?”

The Bega strike, organised by the United Workers Union, called for a wage increase for workers and resulted in limited dairy stock and minimal deliveries in various parts of the state.

And while the strike has now been resolved, towns in the Far West took longer to recover.

Owner of the Muddy Waters Coffee Shop in Brewarrina, Belinda Colless, said the lack of fresh milk for those two weeks was appalling.

“It’s really putting Brewarrina and Western NSW in amongst …third world countries,” she said.

“It seems silly that in this day and age, in 2023, you can’t even buy fresh milk for your family, for your kids.

“We are at the end of the chain here … I don’t think anyone really gives a toss about whether or not there’s milk for the kids, or milk for coffee, or milk for anyone out here.

Ms Colless said Brewarrina only had one refrigerated transport service that delivered milk to the town, which meant the strike had more of an impact locally than elsewhere in NSW.

“We only have one milk distribution [company] … and that is twice a week. So, it’s pretty limited really,” Ms Colless said.  

Frustrating locals further, limited communication meant businesses were not aware of the shortage until the milk didn’t show up.

Ms Colless said her business partner went to collect their usual 10 to 12 crates of milk, and were surprised to only find three cartons.  

“I spoke to my local supermarket that I buy through, and they said, ‘Look, we’re sorry, we’ve been informed that we’re not going to receive any milk’,” she said.

Supermarket chains operating in the Far West, such as SPAR, said it was difficult to find distribution companies that would transport food to such a remote location.

Emergency food relief

At the end of last year, the NSW Committee on Environment and Planning held an inquiry on food production and supply in the state.

Hearing from over 70 affected stakeholders, the inquiry’s final report noted the COVID-19 pandemic worsened food insecurity.

During the pandemic, communities like Walgett in Far West NSW relied on emergency food supply, but resources were limited.

In a submission to the inquiry, the Dharriwaa Elders Group (DEG) and Walgett Aboriginal Medical Services (WAMS) “pointed to the inability of emergency response systems to assist Walgett’s sole supermarket, despite requests to the Local Emergency Management Committee”.

Following the inquiry, the committee recommended the NSW government integrated food relief responses as a key part of crisis preparedness planning frameworks

Coming into drought, communities in the Far West are hoping this recommendation is followed.

“If it’s drought, all the businesses will be suffering,” Mr Kollipara said.

“All the industries around Bourke which rely on water, they will suffer, farmers will suffer — so all we have to do is wait and see for the rain.”

Government response

A National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesperson said “since March 2020, the Australian government has used the National Coordination Mechanism more than 540 times”  to support communities impacted by “a diverse range of crises, including … supply-chain disruptions [and] food supply interruptions”.

A spokesperson for the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) said the federal government was working with state and territory governments, as well as First Nations partner organisations, to improve food security in remote communities.

“This is supported by the government’s $11.8 million announcement … to create a National Strategy for Food Security in Remote First Nations Communities, which is in development,” they said.

“While it is not within our direct responsibilities, the NIAA contacted the store manager in Brewarrina who advised that the fresh milk shortage was for one week only during the strike,” the spokesperson said.

The ABC understands upgrades to a store in Wilcannia, also in the Far West, were supported by an NIAA grant of $500,000.

Victoria has also faced milk shortages recently, after strike action saw 1,400 factory workers walking off the job for 48 hours.