Under the thick heat of the Top End sun, the sharp sound of clapsticks echoes through the forecourt outside the Northern Territory Parliament House.
Marking their presence with a ceremonial dance, groups from three clans across the Thamarrurr region of the Northern Territory have travelled over 400km to deliver a petition.
It sits inside a binder made of bark, held by William Parmbuk, a member of the Marringarr clan group.
Standing on the steps of parliament, Mr Parmbuk reflects on the hundreds of signatures he holds, a culmination of years spent calling for remote roads to be fixed for his community.
"It's been three years since asking the government, can you help us with the road," Mr Parmbuk told NITV News.
"Every year the roads are terrible, we need the government to listen to us."
"People are killed on the road and we need it to be fixed," Mr Parmbuk said.
William Parmbuk handed the petition to member for Daly Dheran Young to put it forward as a motion before the Legislative Assembly which resumed sitting this week.
That was met by an additional $72 million from the Federal Labor Government, with the project set to begin in early 2025.
But after a change of government at the Territory election last August, community members are uncertain about whether or not the project will go ahead.
"We need the Territory Government to help us," Wadeye resident Jules Dummo told NITV News.
"If not now, then when?"
Jules Dumoo lives in Wadeye and is a member of the Wanngka clan group. He said the Port Keats Road is vital for regional mobility and economic development.
"We've had too many sorrows of accidents, people drowning, people passing away on the road," Mr Dummo said.
Residents say years of inadequate maintenance, combined with the road’s current state of being impassable for 4 to 6 months annually, have severely disrupted access to essential services, isolated communities, and raised costs for residents, businesses, and service providers.
The community have extended an invitation to government officials to visit Wadeye, meet with Traditional Owners and community members, and see firsthand the road’s impact on daily life.
Two of the vehicles that succumbed to the dangerous road conditions in recent weeks on Port Keats road that connects Wadeye, Palumpa and surrounding homelands.
The petition made a direct call to the Northern Territory Country Liberal Party (CLP) Government to commit funding to existing plans for repairing the road.
"The conditions are terrible it's probably the worst state that we've ever seen this road," Minister Young told NITV News.
"The Country Liberal Government have come in and they still haven't given any answers whether they will commit to funding this road," he said.
