‘Pull the cotton wool out your ears’: Mia Davies slams State Government on Kimberley youth crime response

WA opposition leader Mia Davies has slammed the State Government’s “dismissive” response to Kimberley youth crime and says Police Minister Paul Papalia should “pull the cotton wool out his ears.” Speaking in Broome after touring the Kimberley for community crime forums, Ms Davies said residents across the region had voiced growing anger, with many believing a tipping point was near. “The feedback we have gotten from travelling the Kimberley is there is a sense of lawlessness in these towns,” she said. “When we raise these questions in parliament the police minister and other government ministers are dismissive, and we don’t feel like that’s acceptable.” Her comments come after two Broome Police officers were last week injured when three children allegedly driving a stolen vehicle rammed their patrol vehicle. Three juveniles, all 13-years-old or younger have been charged over the incident. In a statement, WA Police Union president Mick Kelly said the stolen vehicle was taunting police and chasing them down several streets before the ramming. “The union understands that while the damaged police vehicle was being recovered, the stolen motor vehicle was sighted by police in the distance revving its engine and flashing high beams, further taunting police,” he said. The incident came just a day before the first in a series of community crime meetings, hosted by Mining and Pastoral MLC Neil Thomson and attended by Ms Davies, were held across the region. No State Government representatives were present at the meetings, which Ms Davies said was disappointing. “They (the state government) must make this a priority. It’s impacting the ability of people that have a significant amount invested in these communities,” she said. “It’s impacting their ability to attract and retain key service workers; police, nurses, teachers — things that make our communities great places to live. “If they don’t come in and try work with these communities to resolve these feelings of lawlessness and the sky rocketing statistics in the Kimberley, we’re going to see a real crisis here. That’s the message we’re hearing from all of these communities.” Mr Papalia said he regularly visits the Kimberley and meets with community members and leaders, police and other stakeholders. “No-one has said to me the police are not doing their job,” he said. “There are 33 more police officers stationed across the Kimberley compared to when the Nationals were in office. “Police recently deployed a further 12 additional officers to support local police who are doing an outstanding job in what are challenging circumstances.” He did not respond to questions over why he did not attend the crime forums.