In short:
Child Protection Minister Jessica Stojkovski has arrived in WA's Pilbara amid reports of serious dysfunction in her department.
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Stojkovski → arrive → department
The Department of Child Protection (DCP) has been accused of failing to respond to reports of 15 children living unsupervised in a house in South Hedland.
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children → accuse → Hedland
The DCP did not answer questions about its overall response to the reports, while Ms Stojkovski says she is seeking "urgent answers".
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she → answer → answers
Western Australia's child protection minister has been dispatched to the Pilbara amid reports her department is failing to address the neglect of vulnerable Indigenous children.
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department → dispatch → children
Jessica Stojkovski flew into Port Hedland, 1,600 kilometres north of Perth, on Monday in the wake of reports in The Australian that up to 15 children, some as young as five, were living unsupervised in a home in South Hedland.
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children → fly → Hedland
The newspaper reported WA's Department of Child Protection (DCP) had failed to take action, despite multiple complaints from residents, police and other agencies of the children's neglect, and failed to address separate complaints of sexual abuse of children in WA's East Kimberley.
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Department → report → Kimberley
The latest reporting followed claims the Department's Pilbara staff failed to heed warnings about the risk posed to the children of Port Hedland mother Margaret Dale Hawke, before she murdered them in 2022.
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she → follow → 2022
Ms Stojkovski was picked up from the tarmac at Port Hedland Airport after touching down about 4pm on Monday and left the airport without taking questions.
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Stojkovski → pick → questions
In a written statement provided by a spokesperson, Ms Stojkovski said child protection was a "complex" issue.
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protection → write → spokesperson
"It is unacceptable that children in Western Australia are living this way," she said.
"
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she → live → Australia
No child should have their safety and wellbeing put at risk.
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safety → have → risk
I am seeking urgent answers in relation to the children concerned and what actions are being taken."
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actions → seek → children
The furore has sparked renewed questioning of the DCP's culture, resourcing and alleged failure to protect children at risk across regional and remote WA.
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furore → spark → WA
Elders say neglect a pressing issue
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neglect → say → ?
Kariyarra elder Pat Mason said children left alone to fend for themselves was a major issue in South Hedland.
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children → say → Hedland
"Children need to be in a home, and be safe in a home," Ms Mason said.
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Mason → need → home
"If you can't feel safe in a home, then we as adults, no matter whose child it is, have to make sure they are safe, some way or somehow.
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they → feel → adults
"We can't leave them like what's happening in South Hedland."
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what → leave → Hedland
Ms Mason said the situation was the worst she had seen it, and that the system was failing.
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system → say → it
"I reckon the perpetrator should be removed, not the child …
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perpetrator → reckon → ?
the child should be left in the home, with the home that they love being in rather than taking them out," she said.
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she → leave → them
"When you remove them, they end up suiciding or turning to horrific things like stealing cars, destroying someone else's property because they haven't got a property of their own."
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they → remove → own
Nyamal elder Linda Doogiebee-Dridi (Milbugana) said the department needed to work with the community to address the problem.
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department → say → problem
"We don't have a place where my people can go to, to sit down and have a yarn and say, 'Look, I need help.
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I → have → help
Can you help me?'" she said.
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she → help → me
"How do we make government departments change?
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departments → make → ?
By reaching out and saying, 'Let's co-design this department that has Aboriginal Affairs to the way that it's going to be culturally appropriate.
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it → reach → way
'
"Until we actually have that talk with each other, we're not going to move on and create something that's beneficial to our people living in the Pilbara."
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that → have → Pilbara
Latest concerns for under-fire department
Speaking earlier on Monday, Premier Roger Cook said the information that had come to light was "distressing".
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that → speak → light
"The Department of Child Protection works in very complex and difficult circumstances, made even more complex and difficult in a town such as Port Hedland," he said.
"
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he → work → Hedland
We'll continue to ensure that we're doing everything we can to keep the kids of Western Australia safe."
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we → continue → Australia
Child Protection falls under the Department of Communities, a so-called "super department" responsible to five separate ministers.
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Protection → fall → ministers
More than 400 children in the department's care suffered emotional, physical or sexual abuse between 2020 and 2023, when the child protection and foster care system was described as being in "dire crisis".
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system → suffer → crisis
An inquest into the suicide of a 15-year-old boy in the Kimberley heard the teenager had 30 different caseworkers prior to his death, while the timeframe for investigations of abuse or neglect had blown out to 60 days.
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timeframe → hear → days
In 2024, the department left 170 vulnerable children without a dedicated caseworker.
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department → leave → caseworker
Critics have accused the department of maintaining a nine-to-five culture in the face of a persistent problem, with the police union accusing it of outsourcing its functions to overstretched regional police officers.
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union → accuse → officers
Allegations taken 'seriously': department
The department did not answer specific questions about how it responded to the reported neglect in South Hedland.
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it → take → Hedland
A department spokesperson said it worked with multiple community and Aboriginal agencies to respond to at-risk individuals and families in South and Port Hedland.
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it → say → Hedland
"Communities' leadership also meets regularly with South Hedland and Port Hedland Aboriginal leaders, to listen to and address local concerns and discuss available supports," the spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → meet → supports
"Where safety concerns for family visitations are raised, Communities engages with Police to ensure appropriate arrangements are put in place to allow contact visits to occur safely.
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visits → raise → place
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia