Ward of the state had to choose between ‘abuser and homelessness’

Dion Barber also described some of the sexual abuse he experienced from his father and grandparents during his time under the legal care of the state.

Dion Barber, centre, arrives at the Perth District Court with his lawyer for the case in which he is suing the state of Western Australia over allegations he was subjected to horrific sexual abuse while a ward of the state in the 1980s and ’90s. Picture: Emma Kirk/NewsWire

A man suing the state of Western Australia has told how authorities effectively gave him the choice ­between returning to the home of his abuser and homelessness when he was still a ward of the state.

Dion Barber is suing the state in the District Court of WA over what he alleges were breaches of its duty of care. The Children’s Court made Mr Barber a ward of the state when he was eight years old, after it determined that on the balance of probabilities he’d been sexually abused by his stepfather.

But he was returned to the home his mother shared with his stepfather just months later, after Don Punch – at the time a supervisor in the Department of Communities, and who is now a minister in the Cook Labor government – signed off on a plan to reunite the family. Mr Barber has told how he suffered repeated sexual and physical abuse upon his return to his mother’s home, before his mother alerted authorities to the latest abuse.

Continuing his testimony on Friday, Mr Barber told how – years later and when still a ward of the state – he again returned to live with his mother and his stepfather. By that time, the stepfather had also spent time in prison for the sexual abuse of another child.

Mr Barber told the court he was not happy with those living arrangements but felt like he had been given no other choice by the Department of Communities.

“At that stage I had nowhere else to go, I was railroaded, it was there or the streets,” he said.

“I wasn’t given another option. It wasn’t like Welfare gave me any other option.”

Mr Barber also provided horrific details of his experiences while residing with his biological father and his maternal grandparents while still a ward of the state.

The Department of Communities wrote an affidavit supporting an application from the biological father Kenneth “Mick” Barber, to take guardianship of Mr Barber despite Mick having spent time in jail and having been accused of domestic abuse.

Mr Barber told the court how Mick molested him, tongue-kissed him and left him with love bites after he went into his care. Mr Barber’s time with his father ended when Mick was arrested over the sexual abuse of another child. He later took his own life shortly after his release from prison.

Mr Barber told the court he had been “ecstatic” to hear of his father’s death. “There was no risk of having to face him again,” he said.

He told how shortly upon starting to live with his father at the age of 10, Mick began buying him alcohol. Mick would also take Mr Barber to the bush to help him find cannabis crops that they’d raid.

“Dad would take me out, I could smell the dope when it was wet,” he said.

He also told the court about his experiences with his maternal grandparents, with whom he had regular contact throughout the bulk of his wardship even after his grandfather was also jailed for the sexual abuse of another child.

He said he had also experienced sexual abuse in his grandparents’ home. His grandfather, Mr Barber said, would regularly have sex with his grandmother in front of him and Mr Barber was often told to take off his clothes and climb onto his grandmother in a game they called “horsies”.

He was also frequently exposed to pornographic material by his grandparents, including a Cinderella-themed pornographic video.

Mr Barber told the court about the lasting impacts on his life from his childhood, and in particular the experiences with his stepfather.

He said he had made multiple attempts to take his own life, had longrunning issues with drug addiction, and still experienced frequent flashbacks to the abuse.

He has multiple diagnosed mental conditions including complex PTSD, and has struggled to maintain relationships.

The state has admitted it breached its duty of care when it first sent Mr Barber back to the home his mother shared with his stepfather, but is disputing the extent of the state’s legal obligations and liabilities.

Mr Punch is listed as a witness and is set to be called next week.