Swan Valley Nyungah Community - Timelime of Closure

Timelime of Closure

• 14 May 2003 Geoff Gallop, the Premier of Western Australia, issued a media statement stating that the Swan Valley Nyungah Community was “a place of ruination and despair”. He said the camp should be closed because “allegations of abuse and violence continue to be made informally and through advocate groups”. The women and children of the community protested outside Parliament House and requested an opportunity to present their case to the Premier. The request was denied.
• 15 May 2003 Gallop issued another media statement saying “The Gordon Inquiry raised a number of concerns about the Swan Valley Nyungah Community” and “There is only one course of action: the current Management Order must be revoked”.
• 16 May 2003 Robert Bropho was charged with raping Lena Spratt in 1975. On the same day Bevan Carter, the deputy Mayor of the Town of Bassendean, said he “suspected a link” between closure of the camp and government plans to develop the land. In The Australian an article by Paul Toohey reported that “The idea is to break Bropho’s grip on the community and put the residents into ordinary suburban housing”.
• 17 May 2003 the new legislation was knocked back by the Liberal Party and the Greens. Former Attorney-General Peter Foss, asked “Why would you chuck out the victims with the perpetrators? You can’t solve a social problem by kicking everybody out. The Government is kidding people if they think the only place in WA where child abuse and domestic violence is happening is the Swan Valley Nyungah Community. It’s happening everywhere. This is tokenism where the Government is pretending it is solving a problem and may in fact aggravate it”.
• 22 May 2003 Indigenous Affairs Minister Alan Carpenter labelled the community “a tragic disgrace”. He said “We are living in the 21st century, yet a component of our society is living in the Dark Ages where people are routinely bashed, raped and possibly murdered including 21⁄₂ year old children”.
• 3 June 2003 the State Liberal Party reversed its opposition to the forced closure of the camp: “You will get this bill through parliament if you can give assurances as to the immediate care, the welfare, the safety, the protection, the housing of the people living in the Swan Valley community, both now and long term” After the Reserves (Reserve 43131) Act 2003 passed through Parliament the Opposition spokesman for Aboriginal Affairs, Derrick Tomlinson, resigned in protest. On 12 June 2003 Greens senator Jim Scott called for an inquiry into the Government’s use of legislation to close the community: “This is an incredibly serious piece of legislation in that it infringes on people’s rights in a way it has never been done before”.
• 13 June 2003 the Swan Valley Nyungah Community was closed and police were given an order to remove any inhabitants from the reserve. State housing was arranged for several residents and others were forced to seek shelter elsewhere. Robert Bropho commenced a hunger strike on the steps of Parliament House, protesting the closure. He said he would not eat until there was an inquiry into the Reserves Act. Bropho was arrested outside Parliament House on 20 June 2003 and charged with 9 counts of sexually assaulting his sister’s granddaughter. He told the media “There’s no fair trial for me here. I’m wondering if there is a safe court to go to in this state”.
• 25 June 2003 Bropho ended his hunger strike with the establishment of the Upper House Select Committee Inquiry into the Reserves Bill 2003, by the Greens, Liberals and the Nationals.