When the System Fails Our Children: A Medical Doctor’s Perspective

A failure of governance

In my years as a GP, I have seen the devastating impact of systems that ignore the human cost. When the Children's Court delivers a scathing judgement, it is not merely a legal document. It is a diagnosis of a failing system. Recently, the Legislative Council debated a matter of grave concern regarding the Department of Communities. A seven-year-old boy, who had known only the love of his foster family since he was four months old, was removed from that home against the grain of the magistrate’s recommendations for a gentle transition. The findings were stark: the department’s cultural plans were described as inadequate, superficial, and little more than meaningless rhetoric.

The fear is real for every parent who trusts the state to protect their most vulnerable. If the department can ignore a court’s advice on the sensitive transition of a child, what hope is there for the quiet, hidden cases that never reach the courtroom? This is not just bureaucracy; it is a waiting room where children pay the price with their long-term well-being.

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The weight of the evidence

The most alarming detail was that the department’s own director general and the minister were not briefed on this significant judgement until weeks after its delivery. How can a minister protect children when the information she relies upon is filtered through a system that seems designed to insulate itself from accountability? During the debate, it became clear that the department lacks a specific procedure for bringing adverse court findings to the attention of leadership. This is a glaring operational flaw that leaves vulnerable children exposed.

A call to action

We are told that millions of dollars are being poured into the system. Yet, when foster parents asked for a simple Father's Day card and a five-minute video call for a child they had raised as their own, they were met with cold, administrative rejection. This is not how a caring society operates. We must shift the conversation from defensive policy-writing to genuine, kind-hearted action.

The House recently debated the motion regarding the Minister for Child Protection, demanding transparency where there has been too much secrecy. We will continue to hold the government to account because the alternative is to leave our children at the mercy of a system that has lost its way. To stand with us as we work to bring sanity and humanity back to our public services, please join our cause at Legalise Cannabis WA.