Ministers and Indigenous leaders will attend a roundtable on child safety in Western Australia next week following allegations that children were left alone in poor conditions at a house in the state's Pilbara region.
Western Australian Aboriginal leaders, led by Dr Hannah McGlade, this week called for an urgent roundtable after reports in The Australian revealed allegations vulnerable Aboriginal children were being left alone, sometimes for days at a time, in a home owned by the WA Department of Housing and Works.
"We are certainly in discussions about a roundtable," Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy told reporters in Darwin, noting she had asked newly appointed Indigenous Child Commissioner Sue-Anne Hunter to "get onto this immediately".
"It may be later next week or earlier in the week after. We obviously have to work out the logistics."
She added: "That's why we established that Commission so that we can have oversight, not just in WA but also right across Australia, where there are concerns that are being raised, and Commissioner Hunter will be going to WA."
Commissioner Hunter, whose newly legislated role gives her the power to advise ministers and question bureaucrats, said she will "convene an independent roundtable in Western Australia to hear directly from affected community".
"The insights gained through these discussions will inform any future advice and recommendations I provide to Governments," she said.
The Wurundjeri and Ngurai Illum Wurrung woman, who has extensive experience in the child protection space, also said recent media reporting did not "accurately" reflect her position.
"My priority is hearing directly from the families, communities and individuals most affected," Commissioner Hunter said.
"I have always said that this role requires being on the ground with people most affected and that's exactly what I'm doing."
This week, Western Australia's Child Protection Minister Jessica Stojkovski flew to the Pilbara after reports that up to 15 children could be found at a house in South Hedland, including the children of the tenants, with parents reportedly leaving regularly for days at a time.
The report suggested child protection workers knew about the conditions at the home, which included allegations that children were sleeping on soiled clothes on the floor. Former department staff and WA Police officers told The Australian they believed current staff were not fulfilling their duties.
First Nations women have been speaking out about child safety but are being ignored by authorities, Dr McGlade said earlier this week when she called on the Western Australian Government to "convene an urgent roundtable of Aboriginal women working in child and family safety to discuss these issues".
"There are Aboriginal grandmothers and senior women in every Aboriginal community who are very worried about violence and children's safety, still they are not being heard and listened to," she said.
"Too often, Aboriginal women are not heard or included in critical decision-making about child safety. We are here, ready to work with the government and share solutions we know will work."
