Kimberley crime towns ‘like Port Moresby’

The Kimberley’s most successful publican says the region’s crime-ravaged towns resemble Port ­Moresby because of ugly shutters, boarded-up windows, barbed wire fences and concrete barriers.

Martin Peirson-Jones.

The Kimberley’s most successful publican says the region’s crime-ravaged towns resemble Port ­Moresby because of ugly shutters, boarded-up windows, barbed wire fences and concrete barriers.

Martin Peirson-Jones says families are leaving the Kimberley “en masse” as ceaseless crime waves increase the cost of doing business. In a letter to West Australian Premier Mark McGowan obtained by The Australian, the founder of Matso’s Brewery in Broome says some towns and communities can now can only attract fly-in, fly-out or short-term contract staff to work in schools and hospitals.

“Tourists are now starting to avoid the towns as their safety cannot be assured,” he writes.

Mr Peirson-Jones arrived in the Kimberley as a teenage roustabout more than 40 years ago and built a fortune as a licensee and hotelier. His bottleshop in the town of Halls Creek was effectively shut down by local Aboriginal women in 2009 after they successfully lobbied the state government for a ban on the sale of full and mid-strength takeaway alcohol in that town and in Fitzroy Crossing, about three hours west by road.

In his December 13 letter to Mr McGowan, Mr Peirson-Jones copied in federal Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt and writes: “Just recently we were told a 17-year-old offender who was apprehended after breaking into our business two nights in a row already had 139 offences on his file. And that is the offences he has been caught for.

“At another business, of four young girls caught stealing fuel (and accidentally burning themselves whilst trying to set the property on fire) during school hours, the youngest was six years old. Gangs of up to 80 children roam the streets until the early hours throwing rocks at staff, police, trucks and cars.”

Car theft and police baiting had become a rite of passage for some children, he said.

“The intergenerational failure to properly educate children prevents them from gaining meaningful employment and con­tributing to society,” Mr Peirson-Jones wrote.

A spokeswoman for Mr McGowan said the state government was aware of the concerns and continued to invest significantly in initiatives in the Kimberley to reduce youth offending and encourage young people to engage in positive diversionary ­activities. This included by allocating an additional $7.8m towards the Kimberley Juvenile Justice Strategy.

“This funding includes a new night patrol program at Fitzroy Crossing, a collaborative project designing an on-country alternative to detention in Broome, and the continuation of the TAFE learning program, existing night patrols and safe place activities,” the spokeswoman said.