Published on Friday, 11 August 2017 at 12:00:00 AM
The Town of Port Hedland Mayor, Camilo Blanco, joined a delegation of West Australian business and community leaders to meet with the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Wednesday, calling for an expansion of the cashless welfare card and urgent action on the main social issues affecting regional WA.
Delegation members included Minderoo Foundation Chairman Andrew Forrest, Indigenous Leaders Jean O’Reeri and Bianca Crake from Kununurra, Corey McLennan from the Koonibba Aboriginal Corporation in Ceduna.
To further raise awareness, a confronting video shown revealed severe social conditions in remote towns, with references to violence, sexual abuse and domestic harm to children and community members.
According to Mayor Blanco, the issues outlined are not isolated to a single town, but are inherent to remote towns across Australia.
“Yes, the footage is shocking. Yes, it’s disturbing, but it’s happening across the Pilbara and all over our country,” he said.
“Alcohol and drugs are killing our towns. By turning the spotlight on these issues, we’re able to give our community a voice and work collectively to find sustainable solutions and create safe, healthy and prosperous communities for future generations.
“If this situation was taking place in the middle of a capital city, it would be a national scandal. We hope that our meeting will help to reset the agenda and place these issues firmly back at the top of the list.
“Port Hedland is simply a microcosm of what is taking place on a much larger scale in other areas. We’re leading the charge and have a 100% commitment to a whole of community response.
“Throughout the year, the Town has been working collectively with government, industry and our community partners to address all key issues in the region. This approach is already delivering strong results in a short space of time.
“There is no single solution. We’re just giving it our best shot and I invite everyone else in the country to get on board and do the same. We sincerely thank The Prime Minister, Opposition Leader, Bill Shorten and Ministers for their time. We look forward to further consultation and win-win outcomes both for the Pilbara and WA.”
Back to All News