MATT CUNNINGHAM, HOST: Minister, you’ve just come back from Port Hedland. What did you discover while you were over there?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: It was important to hear firsthand from the organisations and families as to how they’re going. It’s been really strong coverage in The Australian over the past month and a bit, and listening directly to the families was important, Matt. What I found, though, that was really concerning was the issue of food insecurity, which I found quite extraordinary in a place like Port Hedland, given you’ve got a massive mining community. This was a really strong issue that came through quite a number of times, in terms of the poverty and the kids and what’s happening with them. That was perhaps the first issue that was raised directly with me.
HOST: So why are these kids not getting fed?
MINISTER: Well, that’s the question, isn’t it? So, what I wanted to find out was what could we do in that regard? There are a number of factors, obviously. There are families who need extraordinary help as well, whether it’s to do with drug or alcohol-related. There are organisations that are trying to have night spaces. They run night spaces a couple of nights a week. If those night spaces can be extended to provide a safe and secure place for the children and young people, that will certainly be of huge benefit for the area. But ultimately, at the end of the day, it’s also working with people, people who have real addictions, and I need to have a good look at what kind of resourcing is going into that.
HOST: One of the concerns that was raised in that reporting was of one home where there were, you know, up to a dozen kids living, according to the reports, without adequate adult supervision. Did you get to the bottom, or were you able to find out any more about that, and why that’s happening, and why the department wasn’t doing anything about that?
MINISTER: I think the first thing that I heard from people was the sense of, yes, there needed to be a conversation, but people were feeling quite exhausted around having to talk about the whys. It’s actually about what can be done now. Now that the attention is on Port Hedland in particular, what can be done to actually support the communities that are trying to work on this or organisations. So that’s what I’m trying to look at. Okay, you’ve got a number of organisations that are trying to do their best. That coordination needs to obviously happen, both in Western Australia itself, and I want to see what we can do at the Commonwealth level.
HOST: And have you got any ideas around that, around what can be done?
MINISTER: Yeah, sure. I’m going to take away with me, firstly, the areas that I have responsibility for with food security and see what I can do specifically for that, Matt. I’m rolling out over 170 stores across remote regions in terms of food security. Why is it that here’s a town that’s pretty well functioning? Why is that having an issue? So, I can certainly look at that immediately. With the other factors, in terms of children and youth, I’ll be liaising with the WA Government this week, once we get back into the weekday, to actually see what they’re doing in terms of that coordination on the ground.
HOST: So, have you had any discussions with the WA Child Protection Minister, or with Roger Cook at this stage, about what’s gone on there and perhaps what’s gone wrong, and what can you fix?
MINISTER: I spoke to the Minister prior to my visit. That was when I was in Canberra during sittings, and I did get a briefing then. That was when the Children’s Commissioner then went to the area, and I needed to give her the space to do that, and she’s done that. She’s going to hold her own Rapid Review over the next few weeks. So that’s my direct conversation with the Minister. What I’d like to do this week is actually follow up with her now that I’ve been to Port Hedland, and I will be doing that this week.
HOST: And with regards to Sue-Anne Hunter, can you just talk us through what she has done, what she has seen, what she has found in the discussions you’ve had?
MINISTER: Sure. I had a briefing from her earlier last week. That’s when I wanted to wait until I did hear from Sue-Anne Hunter. And she also raised the issue of poverty and food insecurity. So, I was already aware that that was her concern, but to actually hear from everyone on the ground that that’s the number one thing I can look into, I’ll certainly do that this week. In terms of Commissioner Hunter, she is going ahead with her own Rapid Review. I’ve yet to see what the terms of reference of that is. I think the Commissioner will do that in her time. She’s independent of us, and she’ll do that, as she said she would.
HOST: One of the things that has been raised has been a failure of the department to act on reports that have been made to it, both by agencies like police, but also by Elders and grandparents in particular, it would seem, who have raised concerns, and those concerns haven’t been acted on. Do you have concerns around what’s happening there?
MINISTER: What I want to do here, Matt, is support Mrs Papertalk in terms of her grandchildren and wanting to have an inquest into what happened and the circumstances leading that. I think that’s the number one point I’d like to get across, is to support her in her calls for that. The second thing is that there are a lot of men who are missing in the Kimberley and Pilbara, and I met with families in Port Hedland as well whose son is missing. The acting coroner last week made a decision to investigate the missing young people, young men. So, there is something not right in that region, and I would urge the WA Government to really continue working with the families on the ground there and get to the heart of these matters, especially around poverty and neglect. And the fact that you are now looking at these missing young men, I think, is a very important step for those families who’ve been advocating for a number of years. I’ve been working with them and supporting them as well, and I’m very pleased to see that this will go ahead.
HOST: So, just to clarify, you think there should be an inquest into the death of those three girls?
MINISTER: Absolutely. I do believe this is the grandchildren of Mrs Papertalk, I do believe that she needs to be supported in her calls to understand what happened.
HOST: Have you been able to get any indication from the Cook Government as to why that hasn’t happened? I know that the coroner operates independently from the government, but has there been any reason given why there wasn’t an inquest?
MINISTER: Well, this is what I’ll follow up this week, Matt. I just feel that, listening to the families on the ground, they do need support, and I just suggest very strongly to the WA Government, please support these families.
HOST: And just quickly on another matter, we’re getting very close to the deadline for the closure of YiSSA. Is it possible for that facility, in its current form, to be saved?
MINISTER: My offer is still on the table. The Commonwealth’s offer to the Northern Territory Government is still on the table in terms of at least supporting the residents there. There are over 120 people who are still in the facility who have not found anywhere to go. If the Batchelor residence is not ready, I reiterate my call to the Northern Territory Government, please extend YiSSA for at least the next six months to get us through the wet season, so that there can be a long-term plan here as to where vulnerable families can go. We saw what happened last wet season. I don’t think, in my memory, I’ve ever seen the thousands of people displaced across the Northern Territory as we saw in the last wet season. And YiSSA was able to help those families, especially those families from Daly River, and cared for those families. Where are people going to go if we’ve got an additional 120-odd families now who don’t know what their future is next Sunday? This time next Sunday, what happens? So I’m calling on the Northern Territory Government, please, if you’re not ready, please accept my offer for an extension, at least to get us through the wet season, and let’s get back to the table on this properly.
HOST: And long term, do you think Batchelor is an appropriate place to have this kind of housing?
MINISTER: There are plenty of places in Darwin that we can look at. In fact, I know that there are plans that the Northern Territory Government wants to see in Darwin long term. And I’d be prepared to have a look at that. But in the short term, right now, there’s an urgency for these families, and I just ask the Northern Territory Government to reconsider the offer of the Commonwealth. Please keep YiSSA open, at least to get us through the wet season, so that we can then work on a longer-term plan.
HOST: Thank you.