Over 1200 urge immediate closure of WA’s notorious Unit 18
More than 1200 Australians have urged the Western Australian government to immediately close Unit 18 and implement coronial recommendations following the death of 16-year-old Cleveland Dodd.
The signatories delivered an open letter to Members of Parliament on Closing the Gap Day — Thursday — calling for urgent youth justice reform.
Signatories have sought urgent action to ensure no more children die in the care and custody of the WA government. Advocates said the current approach has failed and pressed for rapid, concrete steps to prevent further harm.
Key Points
- More than 1,200 sign open letter seeking urgent youth justice reform
- Calls to close Unit 18 and act on coronial findings into Cleveland Dodd death
- Aboriginal children are 63 per cent of detainees but 4.4 per cent of population
- Two Aboriginal young people have died by suicide in WA youth detention
- MPs from Greens, Liberal and Nationals received the letter in person
- Invitations to two WA ministers declined, no government delegate attended
- Advocates say ‘We cannot wait until 2028’ for meaningful change
Coronial findings
The Coronial Inquest into the death of 16-year-old Cleveland Dodd found that systemic and institutional failures contributed to a preventable tragedy. Those findings have intensified calls for reform, with advocates stating the government must act to address the issues identified and commit to the recommendations without delay.
In WA Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children make up 63 per cent of those in detention, despite representing just 4.4 per cent of the population. Unit 18 has disproportionately held Aboriginal children in harmful conditions, according to campaigners seeking its closure.
Advocates also highlighted that two Aboriginal young people have died by suicide in youth detention in WA, underscoring the urgency of the reforms outlined in the letter and in the coroner’s findings.
A petition calls for the closure of WA’s Unit 18 young offenders centre.
No Labor present
Members of Parliament who accepted the handover included Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Neil Thomson, Shadow Minister for Police, Corrective Services and Youth Adam Hort, Jess Beckerling Julie Freeman and Tim Clifford.
Invitations were also sent to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Don Punch, and Minister for Corrective Services, Paul Papalia, but they declined to attend or send a government delegate to receive the letter.
Ronald Bin Swani, Advocacy Lead at Social Reinvestment WA, said it was disappointing WA Labor sent no one to meet the delegation, but that the group was encouraged by cross-party engagement from the Greens, Liberal, and National parties who received the letter.
He said it is a commonly shared sentiment that no more children should die inside prisons, and that government must act to prevent this.
Kylie Wallace, CEO of the Youth Affairs Council of WA, said Cleveland’s death was both predictable and preventable. She said Unit 18 was never safe for children and that each day it remains open continues harm.
MsWallace called on the WA Government to close Unit 18 and invest in community-based, Aboriginal-led supports that keep children safe. She also called on the State Government to implement the coroner’s recommendations, describing it as unacceptable that two young people have lost their lives in the justice system.
