Report into deaths of Charlie Nowland and Makai Wanganeen finds 500 SA kids living in ‘high-risk’ situations, makes 31 recommendations

The Premier will not rule out firing the Child Protection CEO, as it’s revealed police are racing to check on 500 children living in “high-risk” situations under her watch.

About 500 South Australian children are living in “high-risk” situations, a review into the deaths of two vulnerable kids has found.

Premier Peter Malinauskas has released the recommendations of former Police Commissioner Mal Hyde’s review into the involvement of government agencies with the families of Charlie Nowland, 6, and Makai Wanganeen, 7, who died earlier this year.

Mr Hyde’s review screened for children in “particularly high-risk settings” and “approximately 500 children were identified”.

SA Police will send officers, or other government staff, to check on the welfare of those children “as soon as possible”, the Premier said.

A top-ranking police officer would be appointed to co-ordinate that process, and officers would begin as soon as that happened, Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said on Wednesday.

Mr Malinauskas said it would be “foolish and reckless” to promise no more children would die as a result of neglect in South Australia.

“I know it’s painful to hear but it’s the honest truth,” he said, adding that a government could never provide the same level of care as a parent.

Among his recommendations, Mr Hyde called for the “culture” of the Child Protection Department to be “thoroughly examined and action taken where necessary to ensure a constructive and supportive culture is established”.

However, he would not say if that action should include replacing department chief executive officer Cathy Taylor.

Child Protection Department CEO Cathy Taylor. Picture NCA NewsWire / Emma Brasier

Premier Peter Malinauskas. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

Asked if Ms Taylor should keep her job based on the findings of the reports, Mr Malinauskas and Child Protection Minister Katrine Hildyard said they had “high expectations” of government leaders and would continue to monitor “performance”.

A list of Mr Hyde’s 31 recommendations was released but the rest of his report was withheld – despite a pledge to make it public.

Mr Hyde and Mr Malinauskas said releasing detail in the report could affect ongoing police investigations.

Among Mr Hyde’s recommendations are:

■ Establishing a taskforce on child neglect.

■ Training to ensure child protection workers have “a greater awareness of the risk of harm through neglect and squalor”.

■ Allocating more funding to “match with the demand for child protection services”, particularly to child protection offices in Adelaide’s northern suburbs.

■ Updating the law to make it easier to prosecute parents accused of criminally neglecting their children, as current legislation “sets the bar too high”.

Charlie Nowland. Picture: Russell Millard

Makai Wanganeen. Picture: Supplied

A second report by child protection expert Kate Alexander was also released and found the system was “under immense pressure”.

Ms Alexander examined previous coronial and royal commission recommendations and found more than 800 had been made in recent years.

She urged the government to merge the functions of the Human Services Department into the Child Protection Department “so that all of government child protection services are under the one minister”.

However, Mr Malinauskas said that would be a significant change to the way government operated and “will require further consideration”.

Mr Malinauskas appointed Mr Hyde to conduct his review at the start of August, following revelations of the deaths of two children – Charlie Nowland, 6, and Makai Wanganeen, 7 – who were known to authorities.

“One is shocking, two is desperately heartbreaking for every parent across the state,” Mr Malinauskas said at the time.

Former Police Commissioner Mal Hyde.

Mr Hyde, who was SA police commissioner between 1997 and 2012, took over an initial review by the chief executive of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, which was established by the government in the wake of Charlie’s death.

The little girl was taken to the Lyell McEwin Hospital by paramedics on Friday, July 15, 2022, after she was found unresponsive at her Munno Para home.

Four government agencies – the Department for Human Services, SA Housing Authority, Department for Education and Department for Child Protection – had contact with her family.

Craigmore boy Makai died on February 10, 2022, after being taken to Lyell McEwin Hospital and later the Women’s and Children’s Hospital suffering from an unknown complaint.

His family was known to the Child Protection Department.

When his death was revealed on August 1, SA Police Major Crime Detective Superintendent Des Bray said a post-mortem had identified several serious health issues.

SA Police launched Task Force Prime to investigate the two deaths, which was continuing to investigate their deaths, Mr Stevens said on Wednesday. There were no new updates.

A separate review into the state’s child protection system was undertaken by Ms Alexander.

It has examined whether coronial and royal commission recommendations made following the deaths of other children over the past decade have been implemented.

The Advertiser has launched the Save Our Kids campaign to lobby for changes to better protect at-risk children.