Commissioner says system 'failing' amid reports kids living alone in squalor
The government admits delays in response to reports more than a dozen children had been living unsupervised in squalid conditions in South Hedland.
WA's Children's Commissioner has declared the child protection system failing after reports emerged of over a dozen children, including some as young as five, living unsupervised in squalid conditions in South Hedland. The Australian newspaper reported these findings, which The state government later contested. Children's Commissioner Jacqueline McGowan-Jones visited the area multiple times and spoke to children who felt unsafe at home and sought refuge elsewhere.
She emphasized that these children needed love, care, and protection. The Children's Commissioner called for more drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities and a whole-of-system approach involving education, health, mental health, child protection, and policing. Meanwhile, the state's Housing Minister denied accusations that child protection issues in the Pilbara were only addressed after media scrutiny.
Children's Commissioner Jacqueline McGowan-Jones also acknowledged that the investigation into the matter had progressed too slowly. Dr. McGowan-Jones acknowledged the difficulty in finding staff in regional and remote areas, as well as the challenges faced by frontline workers in solving complex and time-consuming problems.
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