OPINION: SOME LIVES MAY MATTER MORE THAN OTHERS
BY BARRY TAYLOR
For most people, the idea of a loved one vanishing or being murdered is beyond comprehension, but it is a scenario that is all too familiar for many First Nations communities.
When a non-Indigenous woman dies, or a non-Indigenous person is murdered, it makes the front pages of newspapers. There’s a public outcry.
“When a black woman or man dies or is murdered, you don’t hear about it.”
This also applies to young Indigenous men that have gone missing in Western Australia’s north.
Despite calls for a senate inquiry in January 2023 into murdered and missing First Nations people and in particular women, and with a petition formally tabled in Western Australia's Parliament, there has been no resolution tabled yet. This leaves First Nations people to feel like our lives may matter less than others.
In October 2022, there were a total 68 Indigenous women, and 124 Indigenous men believed to be missing or murdered. Twenty- three of the 192 total are under the age of 18, unfortunately, this number has now risen.
Sadly, in this same month, my family became part of this tragic statistic.
My nephew Wesley Lockyer went missing from our Jinparinya community located 20 kilometers north of the Pilbara mining town of Port Hedland, in October 2022. Wesley was last seen on 24th October 2022.
Wesley is a strong cultural leader who is loved and admired by many Aboriginal people across the Pilbara, Kimberley and throughout other parts of the State.
His knowledge and wisdom have helped keep our Aboriginal customs and traditions alive and thriving for the next generation.
My nephew tends to travel throughout the Pilbara visiting family but we started to become concerned when Wesley left his phone and wallet at his house.
He’s a young man who is active on social media but we got worried when we didn’t see him accessing any of his social media accounts.
As our family grieved, so did two others.
My nephew’s disappearance coincided with two other Indigenous males from the State’s Northwest. Clinton Lockyer from Roebourne and a young Aboriginal male from Fitzroy Crossing also were reported missing in the same month as Wesley.
The WA Police in Port Hedland immediately activated and coordinated a search radius from the community and surrounding areas. Helicopters, drones, night vision planes and emergency services were provided for the search of Wesley.
After the seventh day, police concluded that he had not been found, and the search would be suspended.
This broke my family’s heart who helped out hope that we would find our Wesley.
Whilst my family appreciated the local police and their efforts to conduct the searches, we couldn’t help but question should the police have done more.
Police will simply pass on the matter to the Missing Persons Unit and that’s where it pretty much sits.
“May some lives matter more than others”?
In early January 2023, some three months after Wesley went missing, representing my family, I met with the Minister for Police Paul Papali, Deputy Premier Roger Cook, our local Member of Parliament Kevin Michel, plus senior representatives of the WA Police in Perth to request the WA Government to place a Reward for those missing young Indigenous males, including my nephew, Wesley.
This was to no avail. Heartbreak for my family once again.
WA Police concluded:
Rewards for information require a number of criteria to be met including the establishment of criminality.
No criminality has been established in this matter of time.
Investigation into their whereabouts continues. BOOM.
Despite the overrepresentation in missing person cases, First Nations cases rarely make national, let alone international headlines.
We have been reminded of this in the missing person's case of young Cleo Smith near Carnarvon in 2021. Police dedicated 18 days to help find her, intense national and international media coverage, the offering of a $1 million reward and over a thousand community calls to Crime Stoppers.
The nation, including me, rejoiced in finding the beloved little girl.
But sadly, not all who are searching for their missing children will experience the same outcome.
Our family offered the WA Government to pay for the reward, although it wasn’t $1million. However, given the Missing Person process to ensure coordination this offer was not taken up by the WA Government or the Police.
Yet, on 17 April 2023, yes seven days ago the WA Police placed a Reward of $25,000.00 for information leading to fires that occurred north of the town of Port Hedland for a possible arsonist.
Our family also approached lead detectives on the case and the WA Police to provide further information and updates on the case, to no avail. We were advised that any information we required had to be filed through the Freedom of Information process.
Our family hired private investigators to assist in the case of finding Wesley.
But it should not be the responsibility of a grieving family to seek justice and answers when the government and law enforcement fails.
It is a community and government responsibility to award the same attention, empathy and mobilisation of resources to bring home all missing children, or at the very least bring closure to their families, regardless of their cultural identity.