Wirrimanu Community Store | Community organisation

Wirrimanu Community Store

Phone: +61 8 9168 8894

Add/Update information

Reviews

Tags

• Shopping & retail
• Businesses
• Community organisation
• Grocers

25.01.2022 Get Your Voice Heard: Parliamentary Inquiry Into Community Stores Let's try to make things better and fairer. Wirrimanu Community is located in the Kimberley region in the north of Western Australia. We run our store ourselves. All of us here believe that self management is very important. So, watch this video! Perhaps YOU are someone who can talk to the inquiry! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2rA1CgLKM0

24.01.2022 VERY INTERESTING article on the parliamentary inquiry into food prices in remote Indigenous communities in The West Australian today by Annabel Hennessy and Lanai Scarr..... two excellent journalists who have dug deep. Balgo gets a mention. QUOTE >>> 'When asked about claims that the store in the remote Kimberley community of Balgo had been able to drop its prices after dumping Outback Stores as its manager last year, Mr Borg (CEO of OBS) said that "they were not in a position" to comment on the store's pricing but said he hoped that they could "sustain it" long term.

23.01.2022 What a good result! It could have been tinned peas for weeks!!!

22.01.2022 ABC Perth - 'Drive' - Hugh Lovesy, CEO, Wirrimanu stood in for Wirrimanu store chairman, Chris Mandigalli, in a radio interview this afternoon on high prices in stores. Julian Leeser, chairman of the parliamentary inquiry into food prices on remote communities said (1:25) 'This inquiry was largely prompted by stories that we heard coming out of the Kimberley, particularly Balgo where we've been invited.' Our submissions to the inquiry are THOROUGHLY researched and backed up by LOTS of evidence. Let's hope we can help Julian and the inquiry........ and help other communities get LOWER prices!!!

22.01.2022 "WE CAN SEE THE STORE IS DOING REALLY GOOD" Quote from Chris Mandigalli, Chairman, Wirrimanu Store. See ABC article below. STRENGTH & STABILITY: Since becoming community managed in mid October 2019 we have been able to buy goods about 9% cheaper. Yet our net profits are stronger than anything that we have achieved over the last 3 finanancial years or so! OUR LEADERS GIVEN A VOICE: It's so good to see journalists at the ABC - like Matt Bamford, Erin Parke and Hannah Barry... - take the trouble to talk directly with our community leaders and report on their viewpoints. Chris Mandigalli - pictured below - has been quoted extensively in the article. Check out what he says! OUR SUPPORT TEAM: As always, thanks to our great suppport team. The Aboriginal Investment Group (AIG), Mai Wiru, Task Force Consulting of Melbourne and Northern Strategic Business Solutions of Darwin. https://www.abc.net.au//wirrimanu-outback-stores-/12615162"

21.01.2022 Balgo Community > Wirrimanu Store: The heavy rain and floods have cut even the big main roads and made it impossible to bring in fuel for months. We have just run out of petrol (Opal) and have ~10 days supply of diesel left at current usage. Getting worried for clinic ambulances!!!

20.01.2022 Every bit of the whare house in our store (Wirrimanu Store) is packed with stock. Perhaps Glen - helping out as an additional manager for the next couple of months or so - is thinking that it is a good job that we prepared well and ordered so big for the wet season. The Wet has started early this year! We have had huge rains. The 250 kms of dirt road to the regional town of Halls Creek is closed to all traffic and it there is a serious possibility that Sturt Creek could keep the road under water for a long time and cut off food deliveries to our store for many weeks to come.

19.01.2022 Good article and BIG THANKS on the ABC Kimberley Facebook page - with some quotes from store chairman Chris Mandigalli. (Grant - pass this along to your mates at DFES!!)

18.01.2022 Yet another story in The Australian about high prices in remote Indigenous stores. How interesting that our previous contractor Outback Stores features prominently. This time the allegations are about OBS is earning money from tobacco rebates. However, now we have confirmation that the government are taking this SERIOUSLY..... the article says that the head of the current parliamentary inquiry into high prices in remote communities has 'sought information about rebates and pricing" from Outback Stores!!!!!!!!!! See article exerts or go to https://www.theaustralian.com.au//7333898a6fd6730450e5d24a

17.01.2022 Hard to believe but this is now international news. We are making a submission to the inquiry.

16.01.2022 Our first submission to the parliamentary inquiry into food prices in Indigenous stores has just been PUBLISHED on the parliamentary web site and is now in the PUBLIC arena. Now everyone can read it. We think that you;ll find it a very enlightening read indeed!!!! https://www.aph.gov.au//Indigenous/Foodpricing/Submissions Our second submission is going to be up soon. It takes the big ideas from the first submission and brings them to life with some very powerful specific examples from our own lived experience. These examples show just how dis-empowered Indigenous communities can be.

16.01.2022 Great to see the ABC continue to cover the story of high prices in community stores. The rotten fruit and veg pics do NOT come from our store!!!! On the contrary, Chris Mandigalli from Balgo (Wirrimanu) gets such a big mention under a major section called 'Community Control Works'. That's about our store!!!. Chris Mandigalli and Bede Lee have built on the good work of our former store chairman Daniel Rockman. We were very flattered to think that we might have had a major input into starting the parliamentary inquiry into high prices of food and governance of community stores. Ken Wyatt, the federal minister for Indigenous affairs was certainly kind enough to give our directors hours of his time. They talked to him about a lot of things.

15.01.2022 Mark Warrington - store manager - checking goods onwards just after the fortnightly road train was unloaded. Plastic funeral flowers unloaded ok. Plenty of Sorbent. Overall well stocked.

14.01.2022 This POWERFUL article is worth quoting!!!!!!! The parliamentary enquiry into high food prices in remote communities has just started. Steve Smith, CEO of AIG, was quoted in a 11 June 20 article in The West Australian as saying Outback Stores is a Commonwealth owned company (who manage about 40 remote Aboriginal community stores),.... if their operational model is not sustainable, it's not up to communities to be price gouged in terms of this rebate system they've got going.... Since last October, our community store in Wirrimanu has been managed by us - the community. Since then, AIG has made sure that we get the rebates taken off the price of goods. Thanks to AIG our store is now a lot cheaper for people on the community. And a word for Mai Wiru. They give rebates back too. And they've helped us a lot with staffing. Two good organizations who care about communities!!! The West Australian

14.01.2022 THE FUN OF MANAGING OUR OWN STORE... Vincent (blue shirt), elder Jimmy Tchooga and Liz (store manager) having a laugh on the new kids' bikes. GOOD PRICE TOO!! Thanks to Chris Mandigalli and East Kimberley Job Pathways for putting the bikes together. Community cooperation...good!!!! Watch out for the next fun new thing in our store :-) :-) :-)

13.01.2022 Great article (19 June 20) by Vanessa Mills of ABC about the high cost of food on remote communities. The inquiry is also looking into governance, not just in the stores, but in the supply and management part June of the sector as well. Quote from the article...."When the government comes and makes organizations a one stop shop, it's not going to work. It's going to waste public money, it's going to be more expensive. We believe that with proper safeguards built in, self-management and working on the local level can produce far better results."

13.01.2022 INTERVIEW ON ABC: Vanessa Mills asked joint CEOs Warren Bretag and Hugh Lovesy good questions!!! About the House of Representatives inquiry into issues with the very high price of food in remote Indigenous community stores and governance arrangements in the food supply/store management sector. Since Wirrimanu Community Store has been operating we are sourcing food at about 8% cheaper than before. Very significant for pensioners and people on unemployment benefits.... In the interview, the first thing that we did was to point out to listeners that - as joint CEO's - that we only talk on behalf of the community and - if we could have got hold of our chairman Nathaniel Stretch at such short notice - that he would have been a major contributor to the interview.

12.01.2022 For the inside story of last Friday's food airlift to Balgo, check out Vanessa Mills interviewing Chris Mandigalli (Wirrimanu Store chairman) and Mark Warrington (Wirrimanu Store manager) on ABC Breakfast on Monday 15 Feb. See 42.50 TO 49.50. Really interesting interview.

11.01.2022 Third time even more lucky. Boy, did we need that food flown in as no deliveries by road for about 6 weeks!!! BIG thanks to you guys at DFES for helping our store and our community. So many people mucked in and helped unload the plane.... from our local police to the store chairman and community deputy chairman, Chris Mandigalli and Rex Cotchilli. We had fun!!!

11.01.2022 Yet another penetrating article in the Australian - MORE REMOTE INDIGENOUS GOING HUNGRY - Research shows the figures going UP from 37% (2013) to 43% (2019). Really sad. And AIG (Aboriginal Investment Group) showed that rebates on $33.70 tub of baby formula was $8.80! Thank goodness that we took over management of our own store from Outback Stores and now pay 9% LESS than we did last September! At least, it's a start. Full article > https://www.theaustralian.com.au//74c6c5a75a247f9ec7adef56

11.01.2022 HIGH PRICES? A CHANCE FOR OUR COMMUNITY VOICE TO BE HEARD - Check out the video we made about the parliamentary inquiry in food prices on remote Aboriginal communities like ours. PLEASE SHARE. Let's make sure we talk to the government. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWmyI6YNRzM

09.01.2022 Three happy entrepreneurs... Bede Lee, Mark Warrington and Liz Kapalczynski ..... smart work!! This pagoda is less than $150 at Wirrimanu Store and it sold almost immediately. A lot of community spirit in the store!!! It's a happy place.

08.01.2022 OUR INDEPENDENT STORE NOT ASLEEP ON THE JOB: Our alert store manager - Mark - has just discovered some well-priced - but good quality - furniture. He made a big effort to buy it and now it's in our store. He says that customers having been snapping the goods up. Things are hardly put out for sale before they're out the door. And yes, there are excellent matresses for the beds! :-) It makes us happy when our store gets good value merchandize for our community.

06.01.2022 Strong investigative journalism is the life blood of our democracy. Check out this powerful well researched article in today's Australian. See the three exerts attached in this post. It is reported that Outback Stores allegedly sold over half a million dollars of unwanted fruit and veg and benefited by nearly $70,000 by doing so. This was just ONE year. OBS interactions with our community store also get a mention. The article was based on fine investigative work by the Aboriginal Investment Group. Thank goodness they have taken over our buying and we now get significantly cheaper prices :-) Full article here https://www.theaustralian.com.au//76ddef798f10c5367f6cdb73

05.01.2022 By the way - The Eat Healthy Firm Pockets Smoke Rebate article about Outback Stores was lead article on page 3 of The Australian today..... nearly as good as being on the front page!!! What a powerful run of newspaper articles and radio programs.

04.01.2022 GWN-7 News (West Australia) - A very informatve report on 12 June20!!! Covers the parliamentary enquiry into high prices that Aboriginal people in remotes communities pay for their food. It also turns the spotlight on a government owned company called Outback Stores who manage many stores in the north of WA and in other states. In its defence OBS noted that it has brought down the cost of items like flour and bread over the last few years. But in Sept 19 when OBS managed Wirr...imanu store the price of a loaf of bread was $4.70. Since we have managed the store ourselves and had the Aboriginal Investment Group negotiate good prices for us we sell the SAME loaf for $3.90. A HUGE saving for our pensioners and all the people trying to budget their unemployment benefit. Bread price compared on Wirrimanu Store FB page > https://www.facebook.com//a.110168377139/140033264153149/

03.01.2022 This is a great photo!! A photo that that people will look back on in 20, 30 or 40 years or so and say..... Ah! Now let me tell you about those guys......!!! This photo was taken immediately after a BBQ and meeting at Balgo Community Police Station. It was really great to be there when the leadership of the community and the WA police department (with police from Balgo, Halls Creek and Kununurra) had a good yarn about deep issues and found a way to work together in nice friendly constructive way.

02.01.2022 GETTING RID OF REBATES AS 'TAXES': Rebates/discounts are worth a huge $300,000 a year plus to our store at Wirrimanu commnunity. So having an organization like the Aboriginal Investment Group (AIG) negotiate better prices with our suppliers and pass the rebates back to us is great. It helps us lower our prices and look after our community customers. Thank goodness AIG don't subsidize their operational costs, head office and so on through taking the rebates for themselves!! Every $ counts when you struggle as a pensioner or survive on Centrelink. AIG manage Bagala (Barunga) store near Katherine. They have just done a market basket survey comparing Bagala to 8 other community stores. It's clear - they come out cheapest.

01.01.2022 Christmas celebrations at the store. Store staff pose for a photo. One big family! Our deputy chairman, Rex Cotchilli, on the right holds up the Christmas present bag from the bottom!! It's heavy with presents. Every staff member got a bag. Managing our own store is hard work. But we love being community managed