Andrew Prigmore has been working within the ALPA group since 1996 and coming up for 24 years of service.  Before joining ALPA he was running Supermarkets down in Perth Western Australia.  Andrew has worked in a number of remote communities in the Northern Territory and Queensland.  Communities include Elcho Island, Milingimbi, Ramingining, Oenpelli, Lake Evella, Goulburn Island, and Lajamanu and in Queensland Aurukun, Horn Island, and Umagico.

"Part of the reason I came to work for ALPA was I wanted something different.  It’s good because you don’t have the bustle of the traffic, your only 5 minutes from work, and the locations are anywhere from NT to Queensland.  There are so many different opportunities to learn about the culture, go to ceremonies, great fishing, and if you like hunting there is some great hunting around and the holidays are great."

"Highlights for me would be Lajamanu as you have baby camels coming through the town.  Aurukun, Milingimbi, and Ramingining are great as you get some of the best fishing in Australia.  Umagico was great as you are at the top of the Cape.  Arnhem Land was the best communities to work in because of the culture and ceremonies you get to see."

"The difference between mainstream and remote supermarkets is down in Perth you have staff coming to work all the time.  Indigenous communities have some issues when it comes to ceremonies and funerals so you could be short-staffed.  Also when they have a death in the community they have to come and smoke the store which they don’t do in normal communities so there is some challenges but if you work it out only 5 minutes to work, the fishing you get to do this outweighs the bad."

Andrew is enjoying his time at Aurukun and gets involved in community events and likes to get to know everyone which makes his stay in the community a lot easier.

"The first thing I normally do is build relationships with the Police and the Clinic because they are the main two that you will need in the case of emergencies.  Then after that the Shires even if you don’t like the people it is important to have these relationships as you don’t know when you will need them."

Working for Island & Cape Andrew currently works under the Queensland Operations Manager Eve Brangrove.

"Andrew is one of the most memorable Managers I have had the pleasure of working with. Although his sense of humour can sometimes let him down (jokes), his dedication, commitment, and drive are second to none. Even on the most chaotic days, you can see him having fun and a laugh with his team, he has a true belief in our purpose." 

Andrew has made lot's of friends and believes working for ALPA is a lifestyle change.