COOK GOVERNMENT URGED TO ACT ON CHILD PROTECTION FAILURES

The State Opposition has called for a series of immediate actions in response to mounting concerns about Western Australia’s child protection system, including reinstating a standalone Department of Child Protection and strengthening resources in South Hedland.

Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas and Shadow Child Protection Minister Nick Goiran have called on Premier Roger Cook to:

- reinstate the Department of Child Protection as a standalone government department;
- appoint a senior Minister to take responsibility for the Child Protection portfolio;
- call for a coronial inquest into the deaths of the three Hawke children provide additional resources and staff to address vacancies in the South Hedland child protection office; and
- extend the tenure of Commissioner for Children and Young People Dr Jacqueline McGowan-Jones for 12 months, with the Government requesting she use her special inquiry powers to examine systemic issues within the child protection system.

Mr Zempilas said the continuing national attention on child protection in Western Australia demanded a substantive response from the Premier.

“These unrelenting national headlines have made absolutely clear that Premier Roger Cook has an extraordinary child protection problem to address,” Mr Zempilas said.

“What is happening in South Hedland is deeply concerning, and the State Government must demonstrate accountability for the repeated failures being raised.

“No Australian child should be living without adequate adult supervision. If children cannot be kept safe where they are living, then the State has an obligation to ensure they are provided safety somewhere else.

“This is not about race – it is about protecting our most vulnerable children.

“The Premier needs to acknowledge that the decision made in 2017, when he was Deputy Premier, to abolish the standalone Department of Child Protection was wrong.

After almost a decade, that decision should be reversed and a standalone Department reinstated.

“He also needs to put a senior Minister in charge of this portfolio. After everything we have seen over the past three months, there are serious questions about whether Jessica Stojkovski is providing the leadership this situation demands.

“The question for the Premier is simple: what is he going to do about it? The safety of vulnerable WA children demands action.”

Mr Goiran said recent events had raised serious questions about the operation and oversight of the child protection system.

“We have seen a scathing Children’s Court decision, continuing questions surrounding the tragic deaths of the three Hawke children, and now shocking reports from South Hedland,” Mr Goiran said.

“There should be a coronial inquest into the deaths of the Hawke children. Their grandmother Dorothy Papertalk has been seeking greater accountability for almost four years and the circumstances surrounding those deaths deserve proper examination.

“We also know, through questions asked by the Opposition in Parliament, that the South Hedland child protection office has an establishment of 38 full-time equivalent positions but fewer than 28 are filled.

“That means more than 10 positions are vacant in the local office responsible for responding when vulnerable children are reported to be at risk.

“The Government is now sending additional practitioners to the Pilbara and directing WA’s chief practitioner for child protection to oversee Child Safety Investigations and intensive family support cases in Port Hedland.

“These interventions raise an obvious question - why has it taken until now?

“Premier Cook should also extend Dr Jacqueline McGowan-Jones’ term as Commissioner for Children and Young People for another 12 months and request that she exercise her special inquiry powers to examine systemic issues within the child protection system.

“Dr McGowan-Jones has extensive experience in child protection and Indigenous affairs and the independence and statutory powers of her office make it well placed to examine systemic concerns.

“Frontline child protection workers do extraordinarily difficult work. If vacancies, resourcing pressures, systemic failures or management problems are preventing them from protecting children, it is the Government’s responsibility to address them.

“Child safety must come first for every child, every time.”
‍

MEDIA CONTACT: Graham Mason 0419 194 792