COOK GOVERNMENT MUST ANSWER FOR PILBARA CHILD PROTECTION FAILUR

The State Opposition has demanded answers from Premier Roger Cook and Child Protection Minister Jessica Stojkovski over a series of disturbing child protection failures in the Pilbara, including revelations about children living unsupervised in South Hedland and continuing questions surrounding the deaths of the three Hawke children in Port Hedland.

Reports that children as young as five were living unsupervised in appalling conditions at a Frisby Court property have raised serious questions about when the Department of Communities became aware of the situation, what action was taken and why warning did not lead to earlier intervention.

Despite Child Protection Minister Jessica Stojkovski making a brief visit to South Hedland yesterday, she would not confirm to Parliament, when asked, whether she actually visited the Frisby Court property to see for herself the conditions the unsupervised children were living in.

Yesterday evening in Parliament, Opposition questioning revealed only 27.84 of the 38 full time equivalent positions in the Department of Child Protection’s South Hedland office were filled.

Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas said the Government must act to ensure the safety of the children at the Frisby Court property.

“No child should be living in these conditions and the fact authorities were reportedly aware concerns existed makes this even more appalling.

“What has been reported at Frisby Court is a stain on our society and a damning failure of government,” he said.

“The Minister did not fly to the Pilbara until these revelations became public. The question is why it took an investigation by The Australian newspaper for this situation to receive this level of attention by the State Government.

“The Government must explain when the Minister was first briefed, when her Department became aware of these children and what was initially done.

“If the Minister went to South Hedland, I assume she should have wanted to see for herself what these children had allegedly been living through. If she did not, she needs to explain why.

“We must never forget the terrible legacy of the Stolen Generations. But acknowledging the mistakes of the past cannot mean turning a blind eye when a child is unsafe today.

“No target, policy objective or fear of political criticism can override one of the most basic responsibilities of government, to keep children safe.

“Wherever possible, children should remain safely connected to family, culture and community. But the operative word must always be safely.

“Premier Roger Cook must now show leadership and ensure these children are safe.” Shadow Minister for Child Protection Nick Goiran said the Minister must provide a clear account of the Department’s involvement with the Frisby Court children and
demonstrate that lessons had been learnt from previous tragedies.

“The Minister has refused to tell Parliament when the Department first received a child protection concern relating to children at the Frisby Court property, how many concerns it received, how many Child Safety Investigations were commenced or whether any
concerns came from police,” Mr Goiran said.

“Those are basic accountability questions that can be answered without identifying a single child.

“What confidence can Western Australians have in our child protection system when the Minister’s response to troubling eye-witness reports is simply to hide behind a giant political shield of secrecy disingenuously labelled as privacy?

“Due to Opposition questions in Parliament, we now know the South Hedland office has an establishment of 38 full-time equivalent positions but only 27.84 are filled.

“The Government must explain how an office operating with such significant vacancies has been expected to respond promptly when children are reported to be at risk.

“These questions are even more serious because this is the same district office involved with Jamelia Hawke, Arnda Hawke and Kelvin Hawke before their horrific deaths in 2022.

“The Minister told Parliament yesterday that reviews following that tragedy identified systemic issues rather than failures attributable to individual staff members.

“Frontline child protection workers do extraordinarily difficult work. If systemic, resourcing or management failures are preventing them from protecting children, the Government must fix them.

“The Opposition will continue to pursue these matters in Parliament because vague assurances are unacceptable. We cannot wait for another tragedy and then discover that the warnings were there, recommendations were not followed or nobody took responsibility.

“When credible concerns are raised that a child is being abused, neglected or left without proper care, the system must respond diligently and without delay.

“Child safety must come first for every child, every time."
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Contact: Graham Mason 0419 194 792