Court closures leave vulnerable people stranded, advocates say

Court closures across Western Australia are creating a crisis, leaving vulnerable individuals stranded and without basic necessities, legal advocates say. The shutdown of 20 courthouses began June 1 after police withdrew court security services. This has forced police to transport individuals refused bail in remote communities to the nearest functioning courthouse for hearings. Since June 4, police have transported 157 people under this directive, according to Police Commissioner Col Blanch. However, the obligation ends once they reach the courthouse; police are not required to arrange accommodation or transport home, even if the individual is released from custody.

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It's causing homelessness … we're talking about some very young, vulnerable women here just stranded once they're finishing court.

Community representatives in the Kimberley region report multiple instances of people being left stranded. A 16-year-old with no family support or transport home is among those affected. Emily Carter, chief executive of the Marninwarntikura Women's Resource Centre in Fitzroy Crossing, highlighted the case of a mother forced to leave her child behind to attend a court hearing hundreds of kilometers away. "It's causing homelessness... we're talking about some very young, vulnerable women here just stranded once they're finishing court," Carter stated.

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Aboriginals do have a right; it's their human right to have access to justice, and in this case, it's not happening.

The nine Kimberley courts that closed serve over 100 remote Indigenous communities. Carter described the impact as devastating, emphasizing that Aboriginal people have a human right to access justice, which is currently being denied. "None of us knew anything about it... we have to be a part of those discussions in coming to some conclusion, because it's our people that are being affected," she added.

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None of us knew anything about it … we have to be a part of those discussions in coming to some conclusion, because it's our people that are being affected.

Sally Oliver, managing solicitor at Kununurra Aboriginal Legal Services, condemned the treatment of accused individuals as "inhumane" and the current system as "unsafe." She expressed frustration at the lack of attention given to those affected, stating, "If we took someone from a remote community, who wasn't Aboriginal, away from their home and dumped them hundreds of kilometres away with no way to get home, into effective homelessness, I think maybe the government would be taking a ver."

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If we took someone from a remote community, who wasn't Aboriginal, away from their home and dumped them hundreds of kilometres away with no way to get home, into effective homelessness, I think maybe the government would be taking a ver.