The federal government will improve supply and lower the cost of essential groceries at remote stores. (ABC Central West: Xanthe Gregory)
In short:
The cost of 30 essential grocery products in remote stores will be locked to city prices.
Anthony Albanese will announce the commitment as he delivers the latest Closing the Gap statement.
What's next?
Most of the Closing the Gap targets are still not on track to be met.
Anthony Albanese has promised to lock pricey essential goods in remote food stores to city prices, as he delivers the latest Closing the Gap statement.
The prime minister will tell the parliament that the federal government will ensure the costs of 30 essential products in more than 76 remote stores are the same as what people would pay in the city, as well as boosting warehouse capacity to shore up supply chains.
Groceries in remote communities cost more than double city prices
Photo shows Two young people with a box of groceries
Consumer group Choice has found groceries cost more than double in remote communities on average compared to capital city prices.
"We are also tackling issues of access to affordable food in remote communities," Mr Albanese will say.
"[And] food insecurity can have serious health impacts, including cardiovascular and kidney disease."
Flour, milk, canned tuna, rice, bread, beef, chicken, eggs, several fruits and vegetable, toilet paper, nappies, toothbrushes and toothpaste and menstrual products are among the essential items that will have costs kept to city prices.
Australia must 'face up' to Closing the Gap reality: PM
This morning the Mr Albanese will report on the government's efforts to close bring health, education and other outcomes for Indigenous Australians in line with non-Indigenous Australians.
Mr Albanese will say that today is about "facing up" to what is working, and what is not.
"No nation's story is simple, least of all Australia's. It is a rich, proud and deeply remarkable story – a story of hope, achievement, and survival against the odds," he will say.
"Our stories are intertwined – but as the Closing the Gap report routinely lays bare, there are still too many areas in which we are not together.Â
"The latest Productivity Commission reporting shows that while we are seeing improvements on 11 of the 19 targets in the National Agreement, only five are on track to be met."
Life expectancy, Year 12 completion, and housing were among the measures not on track to be met in the most recent data, and the gap actually widened for Indigenous children being placed into out-of-home-care, incarceration rates and suicide rates.
The Productivity Commission's first review of the national agreement on closing the gap last year was damning in its assessment of state and federal governments, saying their engagement with Indigenous communities had been "tokenistic" and were not held accountable when they failed to improve outcomes.
Renewed attention after Voice defeat
Attention has shifted away from reform in the First Nations portfolio since the government's failure to convince the public of its major policy commitment: a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
On election night, Mr Albanese stood victorious before a crowd of supporters and declared his government would enact in full the Uluru Statement from the Heart — the 2017 petition to the people of Australia by First Nations people that was the result of years of consultation with more than 1,200 Indigenous representatives.
But Labor has put on hold promises for a treaty and a truth-telling 'Makarrata Commission', the would-be next steps after the Voice, after the resounding referendum defeat in 2023.
The latest Closing the Gap report is depressingly familiar reading. Both sides of politics are responsible
Photo shows Anthony Albanese looks towards the camera with other people surrounding him.
Last week, the prime minister and opposition leader were both in Alice Springs in the NT, as the federal election draws nearer.
On Thursday, Mr Albanese announced one of the government's major commitments since the Voice's defeat, providing $842.6 million in funding over six years to remote Northern Territory communities.
The renewed agreement with the Northern Territory will deliver more money for policing and women's safety initiatives, interpreter services and hearing and oral health services among other things.
The grant program for its other significant commitment of $707 million to aid the creation of 3,000 jobs in remote Australia began accepting applications late last year.
The Coalition has been tight-lipped on its plans to reform the Indigenous portfolio under shadow minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.
Senator Nampijinpa Price foreshadowed in an interview with Australian Story that her ideas for reform would be controversial and would require people to be "very brave" in support.
The senator — who was recently handed the "government efficiency" portfolio in a nod to Elon Musk's US Department of Government Efficiency — has said she would cut the $450,000 a year in funding for Welcome to Country ceremonies if the Coalition took power.