The West Australian Department of Communities has drawn strong criticism after a police raid on an Aboriginal employee’s home.
In late February, the department made a complaint to the WA Police regarding an employee allegedly retaining internal documents. The documents, which were leaked to The West Australian, exposed instances and experiences of racism against Aboriginal staff within the organisation.
Eleven police officers, some of which were armed, arrived at 6am and raided the home of an Aboriginal woman in the presence of her husband and young child.
Noongar human rights lawyer and academic Dr Hannah McGlade told NITV News it was shocking to see such a level of state violence against an Aboriginal woman.
“The police could not possibly justify 11 officers with weapons to raid the house of a woman who hadn't committed violent crimes,” she said.
"This was a show of force, it was racist ... What we are dealing with here is systemic racism and violence against Aboriginal people.
“A lot of us are feeling shocked, and hurt and upset about what's happened to this young woman.”
The West Australian confirmed that the Department of Communities made the complaint to WA Police.
Dr Hannah McGlade called out the "racist" behaviour of the state government. Source: Sarah Collard
A spokesperson for WA Police toldthey “responded to a complaint of alleged criminal conduct” and that no person has been charged as the matter remains under investigation.
The police were reportedly after were two reports that exposed racism within the department.
The first was by Price Waterhouse Coopers that demonstrated “racism and bias” in the department and warned that without immediate and immense change they would not achieve Closing the Gap targets.
The second was a 2019 report by Nyamal psychologist Dr Tracy Westerman that concluded that existing widespread racism in the organisation was responsible for the rates of children in state care and public housing.
Dr McGlade believes the reports should have been made public.
"The Government paid so much money for the PwC report, there were significant public expenditure on the report, it should have always been a public report,” she said.
“The secretiveness around the reports don’t reflect a transparent and open government.”
Dr McGlade highlighted the hypocrisy of the Department of Communities and the WA Police Force performing “such a heavy-handed raid” in the presence of a small child.
The Department's past actions have also drawn criticism from Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt.
Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Tuesday, August 17, 2021. Source: AAP Image/Lukas Coch
"I am concerned about the findings in PWC’s March report on the Department of Communities in WA," he said.
"The Department is responsible for taking care of some of the most vulnerable Indigenous people in our state. To learn that the Department is not only not addressing the needs of Aboriginal people but that there is also a level of racism and bias within the Department was alarming – this cannot continue."
He acknowledged that the state government is committed to the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and must take action "to implement the priority reforms and drive progress towards the targets".
"I expect this report to be taken seriously and for the state government to enact immediate change," he said.
Minister Wyatt’s response was labelled as “underdone” by WA Greens Senator Dorinda Cox.
Greens Senator Dorinda Cox at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Monday, October 18, 2021. Source: AAP
Ms Cox said that the Minister has the ability at a federal level to influence situations of this nature, and is urging him to “think about the response from his government”.
“From a Blak woman’s perspective we actually need our Indigenous Affairs Minister at a Federal level to start asking questions about why these things are happening,” she said.
“They are setting a precedent that it’s okay, when it’s not. And it should never be.”
NITV News has contacted Minister Wyatt's office for a response.
Having been a consultant for both Minister McGurk and the WA Police Force before her time in politics, Ms Cox said she’s aware of reports that were commissioned and never made public.
“I know that there are reports that I have written that haven’t seen the light of day because they don’t agree with them. But as Aboriginal consultants, what we want to see is transparency and accountability,” she said.
“At the end of the day this is about our children. Dr Westerman wrote a report about the systemic issues that exist within the department around child protection. We always talk about history, we refer to the Stolen Generation but when we get a report like that and how it can be fix and the department bury it?
“What does it say about their good will to fix the problem? If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”
For Dr McGlade, the Department of Communities has a far way to go before they can improve the damage this incident has made to their relationship with the community.
"This has really damaged the relationship of the state with Aboriginal women and their families,” she said.
She advised the department to work with the Noongar Family Safety and Wellbeing Council to “address these issues and improve relationships”.
NITV News has contacted the WA Department of Communities for comment.
