Dr Robert Isaacs has fired back at suggestions from WA Premier Roger Cook that the respected Noongar Elder's call for the Aboriginal Affairs Minister to be sacked is politically motivated, and called for a major change to Indigenous policy in the state.

Dr Isaacs is the principle petitioner on a parliamentary petition calling for the removal of Don Punch in connection to his handling of the Pilbara child protection crisis.

The petition came after Mr Punch delayed visiting the Pilbara and made comments appearing to distance himself from the ongoing problems in the region.

"The Aboriginal affairs portfolio does not have a direct responsibility for housing or health or child protection," Mr Punch told the ABC last week.

"Aboriginal affairs is a collective responsibility across government, across the cabinet. It doesn't mean to say that every time there is a matter that the police have or the child protection minister has, or the health minister has that concerns Aboriginal people, I am necessarily involved. I leave it to the ministers responsible."

Mr Cook has suggested Dr Isaacs, who resigned from the Liberal Party a decade ago over its refusal to apologise for the policies that created the Stolen Generations, was motivated to support the petition by partisan politics.

"I count him as a good friend," the Premier said of Dr Isaacs, "but I do know that he's always preferred his taste of politics on the conservative side... I'm not surprised to see him part of Basil Zempilas's political stunt".

'It is a disgraceful comment made by him'

Dr Isaacs told National Indigenous Times the insinuation was "disgraceful".

"To have a Premier come down and put a slur on me and Aboriginal people is disgraceful. It is a disgraceful comment made by him," he said.

"I'm coming back on that very strongly, and to serve a message to him that I am prepared to challenge him anywhere on Noongar boodja... and let him know my thoughts and views, and make a very strong comment that he's got to wake up and not think that he's the king of the government, that he's the king of Aboriginal people.

"He's a servant of the people, you know, just like a public servant. You're serving the people, to listen to the people, and understand their issues."

Dr Isaacs noted: "I'm not a politically motivated person."

"He's trying to get at me, suggesting I play politics here. There are Aboriginal politics and the white man's politics. If he wants to see the Black man's politics, then I'm prepared to give it to him straight," he said.

"I don't sit on boards and committees just for the sake of it. I mean business about governance. I mean business about policies. I mean business when I say things are so bad in these communities.

"Like the Port Hedland situation, and the Elders and the people who suffer so badly, I get people bringing issues to me about these communities, remote communities, about blockage of toilets in the public housing, the houses that are deteriorated... and people from those regional offices do not visit these communities on a regular basis.

"And when I hear that sort of thing going on day in and day out; things are not right. People are failing the community, the First Nations community. I'm standing up very strong here, and I always have been in my concern as an Aboriginal man, representing the interests of our community, and that's why people say to me, they ring me up and says, 'we've got a problem here'. I give them the best outcome, my best advice, but then I target where I need to target."

'What I've seen over many many years, this has been totally ignored'

Dr Isaacs noted he has been involved in Aboriginal affairs in his community "for a hell of a long time".

"When Aboriginal people elect you to their committees and boards, on a voluntary basis, and I'm talking about the major organisations: the Aboriginal Medical Services, the Aboriginal Land Trust... the Aboriginal Housing Board, and many other boards that I've been involved in, we try and do the best we can to address those very important issues that Aboriginal people have brought up," he said.

"Now what I've seen over many many years, this has been totally ignored. I don't see this state government having any interest in in Aboriginal affairs.

"When people like Mr Punch go up there to these communities, while neglecting their responsibilities, I call them seagulls; they fly in and they fly out. Then they come back and say, 'Oh, I've been to this community. I know all their issues and their problems'. It doesn't go anywhere."

'That's just not good enough for Aboriginal people'

Dr Isaacs said Closing the Gap reports, and government responses to them, were a case in point.

"Each year the Parliament posts a report on Closing the Gap, and the same old comments are made in Parliament: 'We've still got a long way to go. We've still got a long way to go.', well, that's just not good enough for Aboriginal people here in Australia, let alone Western Australia. Aboriginal Affairs is in a mess, as far as I'm concerned, in WA," he said.

"Now, this issue in Port Hedland has been going on for a long, long time. My work in Aboriginal affairs has taken me statewide over many years. Not only just the towns, but the remote communities as well. It just goes on and on."

Dr Isaacs said there has been a decades-long struggle to secure housing in remote and regional communities with ongoing maintenance to keep them in good condition.

"In the 1970s... what we wanted to do is to start a housing process that would house the people, the families, in a comfortable environment, and also provide education, good health conditions, a good environment, and economic bases where Aboriginal people can strive on the land that they have," he said.

"So, what's been happening over many years? The ministers come and go. They're only there for 12 months, 18 months, and then there's another change of minister in Aboriginal affairs portfolio, and I don't I don't see that working, and that's why I'm calling for a new direction here in WA, a new direction in Aboriginal leadership."

Call for a Commissioner of Aboriginal Affairs who reports to parliament, rather than premier and cabinet

Dr Isaacs called for the appointment of a Commissioner of Aboriginal Affairs - with powers similar to the auditor general - who reports to parliament, rather than the Premier and Cabinet.

"Then Parliament is brought up to date on the accountability of funding. Make these government departments accountable. Have them called in to answer questions," he said.

"Parliament is to be the overseer... and the Commissioner goes to the parliament, both houses of parliament... I want every politician in both houses to understand... so you make these people aware they are the lawmakers, and they could set the trend, and I see that as a better way of addressing the issues.

"Also, there are other ministers who need to be accountable in health, housing, education, and so on. These ministers need to go to the bush more often. They need to go not just once every six months or one every 12 months, and they don't go out into remote areas. They all they do is hit these towns and meet with their committees.

"They need to go to the Aboriginal Legal Service, go to the Medical Services, go to the seniors' councils, and listen... I've never seen that happen. It doesn't work that way, and so they've got their own agenda. Aboriginal people are saying, 'we found out the minister was in town the other day, and he's gone'. I want to address this issue thoroughly."

Dr Isaacs said too many time letters to ministers and MPs go ignored, while the power lies in the Cabinet.

"Aboriginal Affairs is not run by the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs in his office. It's run by Premier and Cabinet, they have their policy makers. They manage the whole native title," he noted.

"When I chaired the Aboriginal Land Trust, the recommendations that we were putting up by the trust were interfered with, tampered with by bureaucrats in that office. That's why I made that comment very strongly in regards to the role of the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. These people are not on top of their portfolios, and I'm going to keep working to address that in the best way I can."