Child safety must come first - for every child, every time.
The past fortnight in State Parliament has been dominated by an issue that should concern every Western Australian - the safety of vulnerable children in the Pilbara. The revelations from South Hedland have been deeply disturbing, and our Opposition team has been determined to ensure they do not disappear from public view without answers, accountability and action.
Much of what we now know has come to light because of the determined reporting of Ros Thomas at The Australian. Good journalism matters, particularly when it exposes circumstances governments would rather not have to explain, and her work has ensured these issues cannot simply be ignored.
In the Legislative Assembly, we devoted successive Question Times, our Matter of Public Interest time and our Private Members' Business time to Labor's failings in child protection across the State, with a focus on the Pilbara and Kimberley, as well as the Government's appalling and heartless appeal of the District Court's decision to compensate a child sexual abuse survivor, Mr Dion Barber - an appeal that has been thrown out by the Chief Justice.
With respect to South Hedland, Shadow Minister for Child Protection Nick Goiran has been equally relentless in the Legislative Council, pursuing answers about when authorities became aware of concerns, what action was taken, whether investigations commenced and whether the local child protection system had the resources it needed.
Nick has also rightly made the point that privacy must protect vulnerable children - it should never become a shield protecting a government from legitimate scrutiny.
Our questioning has exposed serious concerns about resourcing and decision-making in South Hedland and kept attention on the horrific deaths of Jamelia, Arnda and Kelvin Hawke in Port Hedland. Their grandmother Dorothy Papertalk has spent almost four years seeking answers, and we will continue supporting calls for a coronial inquiry.
I have continued to press Premier Roger Cook and his Government on where responsibility ultimately rests. Few responsibilities are more important than keeping vulnerable children safe. When repeated warnings are raised about neglect, violence, drugs or abuse, the response cannot simply be another process or another review.
Frontline child protection workers do extraordinarily difficult work and deserve the people, resources, leadership and policy framework needed to ensure children's safety is always the first priority.
Our responsibility as an Opposition is to keep holding the Government to account. Our Parliamentary team will keep doing exactly that, because child safety must come first - for every child, every time.
