In April Friends of the Earth released the NT Drinking Water Quality Report documenting the health issues linked to the high levels of sodium and other chemicals and minerals in bore tap water in remote communities.
The report highlights that the 150 million dollars released by the 2023 National Agreement On Closing the Gap for drinkable water in remote communities does not meet Water Services Australia’s projected 2.2 billion dollars that would see all communities serviced.
Find more about the report here:
Issues of unsafe or undrinkable water, electricity costs, housing and sanitisation needs indicate a high level of disadvantage and crisis that impacts the health and well-being of First Nations people living in remote communities and homelands. The question being put forward is, why weren’t these critical issues resolved years ago under previous governments? The challenges faced when water is undrinkable whether it’s safe or not is that in communities if there aren’t safe rainwater tanks available then not everyone can afford to buy filtered water in boxes or plastics which also raises other issues when it comes to waste. The reality is that if you can’t afford to buy water there is no choice then drink it.
Northern Territory Aboriginal Affairs Minister Selena Uibo joins Kirstyn Lindsay to respond to the report on drinking water quality and talks about the recently released Territory Water Plan handed down by the Office of Water Security. A project that she says will address the complex challenges of water security and community health in the Northern Territory.
The Minister says the long-term legacy issues of disadvantage is something that the NT government is very conscious of especially with water security and this is a priority for the current Northern Territory and Federal Government. She says it is very difficult when there is only a small bucket of money to play with and The NT Government relies heavily on Federal funding for essential services and infrastructure.