An independent rapid review will examine child protection services in Western Australia’s Pilbara region after more than a dozen children were reportedly found living unsupervised in squalid conditions in a South Hedland home.
Sue-Anne Hunter, the National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People, announced the review after returning to Perth and said the circumstances in the mining town “demand answers”.
“We will continue to see the same things happen again and again if urgent action is not taken,” Ms Hunter said.
The reports triggered a political storm, with the family subsequently removed from the property. Western Australia’s Child Protection Minister Jessica Stojkovski and Ms Hunter visited South Hedland, a town of about 11,000 people roughly 1,600km north of Perth.
The review by the National Commission will assess child protection and wider child and family support services across the Pilbara. It will examine how children move through the system and what happens when those services fail.
Calls for stronger protections for Aboriginal children
The case has renewed scrutiny of the state’s child protection department, which has been accused of previously failing to act in relation to an Indigenous mother convicted of murdering her three young children in Port Hedland in 2022.
Aboriginal Elders have called for a royal commission into Western Australia’s child protection agency and for Ms Stojkovski to resign. The minister has not stepped down and has said she will listen to the community.
Human rights advocate Hannah McGlade said child protection systems had failed and authorities had not listened to “the voices and the concerns of Aboriginal women about what needs to change to keep our children and families safe”.
“If we don’t act now, this is incredibly dangerous to children,” she said. “We have the commitment, we have the solutions, and we want to go forward and work closely with the state government on these issues.”
Chad Stewart, chief executive of the Council of Aboriginal Services WA, said the state was behind other parts of Australia in providing child protection-related services. He said Aboriginal communities understood their local circumstances and should have a greater role in supporting children in out-of-home care.
Ms Hunter, Indigenous Elders, Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, academics, child protection experts and advocates have urged the Western Australian Government to establish an independent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’s commissioner immediately.
They said the office should be independent and have the power to monitor and advance the rights of First Nations children across the state. They also called for an independent peak body representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.
The proposed measures include increasing child protection staffing in South Hedland and creating a local co-ordination group to improve co-operation between services including child protection, police, housing and youth justice.
A state government spokesperson said the safety and wellbeing of children was a top priority and that it was committed to working with vulnerable children and families to provide the support they needed.
“The premier would welcome the opportunity to discuss the outcomes of the roundtable with the national commissioner and welcomes the rapid review,” the spokesperson said.
“It is important to note, these issues are complex and longstanding, and there is no simple fix. Real generational change will require all levels of government to work together.”
