'Youth despair larger than super pit': Advocate tees off at Kalgoorlie council

Emma Young

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"The view from the jailhouse looks a lot more bleak than the one from the clubhouse."

These are the words of a leading Western Australian Aboriginal advocate who has launched a stinging attack on the Kalgoorlie council for spending millions on a golf club while local children faced "a state of despair larger than the town's super pit".

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"Whilst Kalgoorlie's social fabric is being torn apart, we are appalled to discover that the Kalgoorlie Boulder Council has subsidised the towns' golf club by over $25 million," Aboriginal Legal Service of WA chief executive Dennis Eggington said.

"This is despite crying poor in relation to finding funds to divert Indigenous young people from the judicial system, unable to even fund a drop-in centre."

He declared a 'state of social emergency' in the city ahead of Saturday's Kalgoorlie Leadership Summit, which will include WA Premier Colin Barnett, and urged an intergovernmental effort to fund local youth centres - immediately.

Mr Eggington said Aboriginal youth were casualties in a war waged by the wealthy and influential who had adopted a "battle stance of naming, shaming and blaming victims".

"Mayor and prominent golf club member, Mr John Bowler, has gone on record as saying that each population of Aboriginal people is 'getting worse'. How many of these young people he disparages have the social and economic capital to enjoy a round of golf?" he said.

"The view from the jailhouse looks a lot more bleak than the one from the clubhouse and the cost of incarceration in both social and economic terms are far greater than the establishment of diversionary programs.

In August, tensions boiled over after the alleged manslaughter of 14-year-old Aboriginal boy Elijah Doughty. Photo: Facebook/@Elijah Doughty

"We refuse to remain in the bunker with our heads in the sand. The only fair way to help our children climb from this seemingly perpetual pit of despair is to provide a hand up through appropriately resourced, culturally affirming and community controlled initiatives.

"Mayor Bowler's idea of the judiciary physically punishing children only digs our children into a deeper hole."

In October, a woman believed to be a relative of his took her own life at the site of his death, which has become a ... — In October, a woman believed to be a relative of his took her own life at the site of his death, which has become a place of mourning for locals. Photo: Heather McNeill

Mayor Bowler described the letter as a "personal attack" and said the golf club was built by the previous council, but refused to comment further or provide any more detail.

"I just want solutions for our people and that is what I will try to achieve," he said.

Mr Eggington described the town's children as being in a "state of despair" larger than the town's 'super pit' mine. Photo: Jack Atley/Bloomberg News

He declined to comment on his goals for Saturday's summit, which will include Premier Barnett and deputy Liza Harvey after Mr Bowler publicly called for their leadership.

In August, an enraged crowd attacked riot police outside Kalgoorlie Courthouse as tensions boiled over after the alleged manslaughter of 14-year-old Aboriginal boy Elijah Doughty.

A $45 million redevelopment of Kalgoorlie Boulder Community High School was trashed shortly after completion. Photo: WA Education Department

In September, his teenage girlfriend told WAtoday she and Elijah both had parents who had struggled with drug addiction and spent time in prison. She had no idea what her future held, and was unable to voice any hope.

In October, a woman believed to be a relative of Mr Doughty's took her own life at the site of his death.

Dennis Eggington has teed off at the Kalgoorlie council for its decision to spend $25 million on the local golf club ... — Dennis Eggington has teed off at the Kalgoorlie council for its decision to spend $25 million on the local golf club instead of a youth centre.

About a week later, a $45 million redevelopment of the local high school was trashed by a group of boys hours after it was opened with fanfare by Education Minister, Peter Collier, which sparked the call for Saturday's crisis talks.

The Police Commissioner, Karl O'Callaghan, later said one of the boys charged, who was 10 years old, was unable to be taken home home because his father "wasn't interested in taking care of him".

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Kalgoorlie high school closed due to vandalism

Garden bandits caught on CCTV

Camel takes refuge in the WA heat

Perth Color Run highlights

An abalone fisher rescued at North Beach

Snake works on tan at South Fremantle Beach

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Kalgoorlie high school closed due to vandalism

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