Minister flies to Pilbara after report of up to 15 kids living unsupervised

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In a written statement provided by a spokesperson, Ms Stojkovski said child protection was a "complex" issue.

"It is unacceptable that children in Western Australia are living this way," she said.

"No child should have their safety and wellbeing put at risk.

"I am seeking urgent answers in relation to the children concerned and what actions are being taken."

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.

Elder says neglect a pressing issue

Kariyarra elder Pat Mason said children left alone to fend for themselves was a major issue in South Hedland.

"Children need to be in a home, and be safe in a home," Ms Mason said.

"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.

"We can't leave them like what's happening in South Hedland."

Ms Mason said the situation was the worst she had seen it, and that the system was failing.

"I reckon the perpetrator should be removed, not the child … the child should be left in the home, with the home that they love being in rather than taking them out," she said.

"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."

Latest concerns for under-fire department

Speaking earlier on Monday, Premier Roger Cook said the information that had come to light was "distressing".

"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.

"We'll continue to ensure that we're doing everything we can to keep the kids of Western Australia safe."

The reports are the latest in a string of issues for the DCP and its care of vulnerable children across the state.

Child Protection falls under the Department of Communities, a so-called "super department" responsible to five separate 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".

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.

In 2024, the department left 170 vulnerable children without a dedicated 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.

Allegations taken 'seriously': department

The department did not answer specific questions about how it responded to the reported neglect in South 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.

"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.

"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.

"Communities takes any allegation of child sexual abuse very seriously. Where concerns are raised, Communities will report to Police who are responsible for investigating alleged criminality."