Skip to the petition
Basil Zempilas MLA Leader of the Opposition His record ↓
Don Punch, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs
Don Punch MLA, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs

Petition to the Legislative Assembly

Don Punch Must go

The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs has abjectly failed in his responsibilities during the child protection crisis in the Pilbara. He must resign, and if he doesn’t, the Premier should sack him.

Sign the petition See his record

It took him

to visit Port Hedland after the crisis first made national headlines.

The crisis

A national shame

The front of a run-down public housing unit with a boarded-up window and graffiti on the walls
The Frisby Court house, South Hedland

Frisby Court, South Hedland

Children left to fend for themselves

  • As many as 15 children, the youngest aged five, were reported living in a public housing home on Frisby Court, South Hedland, without adult supervision for up to a week at a time.
  • Reporters found urine-soaked floors and a bedroom littered with dog excrement. A local source said a dead dog was left for two days in the room where the children slept.
  • Police said they had alerted the Department of Child Protection dozens of times.

Source: The Australian, 11 Sep 2026

  • The Australian · 11 Sep 2026

    Forgotten children of South Hedland left to fend for themselves in ‘hellhole’ house

    Read the story →

  • The Australian · 16 Sep 2026

    WA child protection scandal laid bare: Abandoned kids, 50 police calls, and zero action

    Read the story →
Teddy bears and flowers left as tributes at the base of a tree

Port Hedland, 2022

The Hawke children

  • In 2022, three Aboriginal children aged 10, seven and four months were murdered by their mother in Port Hedland.
  • Their grandmother, Dorothy Papertalk, says the Department of Child Protection failed to act despite her repeated warnings.
  • A leaked coronial document showed an email ordering a child safety investigation into the children was left unopened for eight days. It wasn’t opened until the day the children were murdered.
  • The Cook Government resisted multiple calls for an inquest before announcing one on 15 October.

Sources: The Australian, 21 Aug 2026; The Australian, 11 Sep 2026; ABC News, 15 Oct 2026

  • The Australian · 21 Aug 2026

    How WA’s child protection system failed three Indigenous children

    Read the story →

The crisis he says isn’t his job

Aboriginal children in Western Australia are in care at about 19 times the rate of non-Aboriginal children.

Source: ABC News, 7 Nov 2026

In the headlines

Under fire

  • The Australian · 29 Oct 2026

    ‘A daft excuse’: Don Punch cops blast from Indigenous elder for dodging Port Hedland visit

    Read the story →

  • The West Australian

    Punch grilled over child protection crisis, calls to resign

    He insisted the system usually works “incredibly well”.

    Read the story →

  • ABC News · 4 Nov 2026

    Aboriginal affairs Minister denies direct responsibility for Pilbara child protection crisis

    Read the story →

  • The Australian · 12 Oct 2026

    Roger Cook defends Don Punch’s silence on Port Hedland crisis

    Read the story →

  • South Western Times · 28 Oct 2026

    Bunbury MLA Don Punch under pressure over Aboriginal affairs portfolio

    Read the story →

  • ABC News · 7 Nov 2026

    Elders say WA government going ‘around in circles’ on Indigenous child protection

    Read the story →

The record

A Minister who has neglected his duties

  1. 01

    81 days to show up

    The crisis first made national headlines on 21 August. Don Punch did not visit Port Hedland until 9 November.

  2. 02

    Waited for an invitation

    He claimed he couldn’t visit Port Hedland without an invitation from local Elders. Members of the community have rejected that explanation.

    Sources: The Australian, 29 Oct 2026; ABC News, 4 Nov 2026

  3. 03

    Says it’s not his job

    He says the Aboriginal Affairs portfolio has no direct responsibility for child protection, housing or health.

    Source: ABC News, 4 Nov 2026

  4. 04

    Missing from Parliament

    After the crisis came to light, he was absent for two of the four weeks Parliament sat: the sitting weeks starting 8 September and 13 October.

  5. 05

    1 in 5 Question Times missed

    He has missed one in five Question Times in Parliament in the past 12 months.

  6. 06

    Passing the buck

    Elders in the Pilbara have accused him of passing the buck on child protection.

    Source: ABC News, 7 Nov 2026

  7. 07

    Still in the job

    He has rejected calls to resign, and Premier Roger Cook has kept him in Cabinet.

    Source: ABC News, 7 Nov 2026

Premier Roger Cook
Premier Roger Cook

Roger Cook

Too weak to sack him

  1. He defended Punch’s silenceOn 12 October, the Premier defended his Aboriginal Affairs Minister’s near two-month silence on the crisis.The Australian, 12 Oct 2026
  2. Then he defended him againWhen Punch said he couldn’t visit without an invitation, Cook said his Minister was acting in a culturally appropriate way.The Australian, 29 Oct 2026
  3. He took weeks to go northWhen the Premier finally visited South Hedland on 24 October, he did not meet with affected residents or children.ABC News, 24 Oct 2026
  4. He held out on an inquestHis Government resisted multiple calls for an inquest into the Hawke children’s murders before announcing one on 15 October.ABC News, 15 Oct 2026
  5. Politics before childrenThe Australian reports that factional favours and fear of a by-election in Punch’s seat of Bunbury may be keeping him in Cabinet.The Australian, 1 Nov 2026

The Premier must ultimately take responsibility for the performance of his Government.

Basil Zempilas MLA, Leader of the Opposition

  • The Australian · 1 Nov 2026

    By-election fear saving Don Punch from WA cabinet axe

    Read the story →

81 days

How it unfolded

From national headlines to a first visit to Port Hedland.

  1. The Australian reveals how WA’s child protection system failed the Hawke children, murdered by their mother in 2022.

  2. Don Punch misses a week of Parliament as the crisis builds.

  3. The Australian reveals as many as 15 children living without adult supervision in a squalid house on Frisby Court, South Hedland.

  4. Premier Roger Cook defends Don Punch’s near two-month silence on the crisis.

  5. Don Punch misses a second week of Parliament, dodging scrutiny.

  6. After resisting multiple calls, the Government announces a coronial inquest into the deaths of the Hawke children.

  7. Roger Cook finally visits South Hedland, but does not meet with affected residents or children.

  8. Don Punch says he can’t visit Port Hedland without an invitation. The Premier defends him. Kariyarra Elder Pat Mason calls it “a daft excuse”.

  9. Punch says his portfolio has no direct responsibility for child protection. Under pressure, he agrees to visit, but sets no date.

  10. Pilbara Elders accuse him of passing the buck.

  11. Don Punch visits Port Hedland, 81 days after the crisis made national headlines.

Basil Zempilas with Indigenous Elders at a table in South Hedland
Basil Zempilas meets with Indigenous Elders in South Hedland
Basil Zempilas talking with two local residents on Frisby Court, South Hedland
Basil Zempilas visits Frisby Court and speaks with locals

This is a Minister who has neglected his duties, who cannot accept his responsibilities and who continues to let down the people of Hedland.

Basil Zempilas MLALeader of the Opposition

As Opposition Leader, Basil visited South Hedland and Frisby Court to listen to Aboriginal Elders and residents about the challenges facing their community.

Sack
Don Punch

If you agree, sign the Opposition’s petition calling for Don Punch’s dismissal.

Sign the petition
Basil Zempilas holding the petition to sack Minister Punch
The Petition to sack Minister Punch
Share this page
Facebook X WhatsApp Email
Social tile reading Sign the petition, Sack Don Punch, with a QR code to the petition

Share the tile

Post it on your socials. The QR code goes straight to the petition.

Download the tile
Basil Zempilas MLA Leader of the Opposition
zempilas.com.au

Authorised by S. Morgan, Liberal Party, 2/12 Parliament Place, West Perth WA 6005.