Regional Visit Report
Collie and Bunbury
3 to 5 March 2015
Facts about children and young people in Collie and
Bunbury
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Around 26,007 children and young people live in Bunbury and the
surrounding shires of Capel, Collie, Dardanup, Harvey and Waroona.
Around 2,207 children and young people aged 0 to 17 years live in the
Shire of Collie and 3,773 in the City of Bunbury.
Children and young people represent a quarter of the entire population
of the region.
The number of births in Bunbury and its surrounding shires increased
by seven per cent from 2009 to 2013.
There are 1,070 Aboriginal children and young people in Bunbury and
the surrounding shires.
Aboriginal children and young people constitute just over four per cent
of the region's population of 0 to 17 year olds.
Who did the Commissioner meet?
In Collie, the Commissioner met with the principal and children from Wilson
Park Primary School as well as representatives from:
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Collie Interagency Group that included representatives from Investing
In Our Youth; South West Development Commission; WA Country
Health Service; Collie PCYC; South West Medicare Local; Pathways
SouthWest; Department of Local Government and Communities; Shire
of Collie; Collie Adult Day Centre; WA Country Health Service; Disability
Services Commission; Anglicare; Collie Family Centre
Collie Early Years Group that included representatives from Investing
In Our Youth; South West Development Commission; Playgroup WA
Inc.; Collie Family Centre; Shire of Collie; Collie Public Library; WA
Country Health Service; Department of Local Government and
Communities.
In Bunbury, the Commissioner met with children from Djidi Djidi Aboriginal
School and Newton Moore Senior High School and with representatives from:
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The Carey Park Child and Parent Centre at Carey Park Primary School
headspace Bunbury
Investing In Our Youth
South West Youth Coordination Network that included representatives
from the Shire of Manjimup; South West Women’s Health and
Information Centre; headspace; Waratah Support Centre; Mission
Australia; School Drug Education and Road Aware; Uniting Care West –
True Colours; Department of Education; Department of Training and
Workforce Development; Aboriginal Workforce Development Centre;
South West Institute of TAFE; Investing In Our Youth.
South West Development Commission
Department of Education – Southwest Education Region.
Acting Commissioner Jenni Perkins with students from Wilson Park Primary
and Principal Christine Gorman.
What the Commissioner heard from Collie
Service providers spoke of a number of very positive things that had been
happening in the area including:
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Schools having a Play Café – playgroups on a school’s premises that
are supported by a trained facilitator or school teacher
The new skate park, which was designed in consultation with children
who now take pride in it
The Positive Behaviour Support model has been successfully
implemented at Wilson Park Primary School. The program outlines
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behavioural goals for students to strive towards and has resulted in
improvements in children’s reading performance data
Ngalang Boodja Council Aboriginal Corporation runs successful suicide
prevention workshops and afterschool workshops for young people
Healthy lunchbox awareness sessions are being run by a local dietician
Local Police run a road safety program and have strong involvement
with young people through the PCYC
Parenting WA has run successful Tuning into Kids and Tuning into
Teens workshops
The South West Development Commission is supporting local
organisations through Community Chest Fund grants
Community-run playgroups exist in Vasse, Busselton, Kingston, and
Treendale where there has been huge population growth and a
playgroup is run at Collie Family Centre.
The issues raised include:
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The need for greater access to school psychologists, particularly for
students from lower socio-economic areas
The increased cost of TAFE courses is making it less affordable for
young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds
Lack of local services for young people with mental health issues
Public transport from Collie to Bunbury is very limited which means
services based there are difficult to access
A lack of support for alternative education such as traineeships and
apprenticeships
The impact of the withdrawal of Commonwealth funding across a
number of areas is also contributing to the challenges of providing
adequate services across the region.
What the Commissioner heard from Bunbury
The Commissioner met with staff from headspace Bunbury. She was told that
headspace help approximately 1,000 young people each year. The clinic
provides help from psychologists and a health nurse, and a GP will also be
available shortly. A photography group and youth reference committee are
run at the premises which help to break down barriers for young people in
accessing the service. The centre operates at full capacity. While there is
growing demand for additional group sessions and outreach work in
surrounding areas, this is beyond their resource capacity at this stage.
The Commissioner also met with staff from Carey Park Child and Parent
Centre which is coordinated by Investing In Our Youth. Located at Carey Park
Primary School, it caters to many families with young children from culturally
diverse backgrounds. Its programs and workshops aim to increase the
knowledge and confidence of parents as well as help children to develop in
their early years. The Commissioner was told that within just over six months
since opening, the demand for the Centre’s services has grown to capacity
and workshops are booked out within hours of their announcement.
The interagency meeting of the South West Youth Coordination Network was
visited by the Commissioner during her time in Bunbury. There she learned of
the many educational talks local service organisations are holding at schools
and in the wider community. These cover topics such as: road safety,
relationships, sexual assault, safe social media, drug education, mental
health, resilience and women’s activities. Many local young people in years 10
to 12 are also being supported with career pathway plans to transition them
from school into training.
A number of issues that are impacting children and young people were raised,
including:
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Ongoing concerns about youth mental health and the incidence of
deliberate self-harm
Many service providers are based in Bunbury, however inadequate
public transport both within Bunbury and from surrounding towns is a
large barrier for accessing these services
A lack of low cost or affordable housing in the area is affecting
vulnerable young people
Keeping young people engaged in the curriculum before they are at an
age where alternative pathways are available to them is a challenge
There is a lack of youth mentoring services
A number of programs face uncertain funding.
Acting Commissioner Jenni Perkins with Newton Moore Senior High School
students.
What the Commissioner heard from Newton Moore Senior
High School
The Commissioner met with Principal Susan Kerr, as well as more than 30
students, including members of the school’s student executive.
In round table discussions with years 7 to 11, the students said Bunbury is a
great and safe place to live. They love the natural environment around
Bunbury, its great weather and beaches. They enjoy going to the skate rink,
to sporting facilities, shopping in town and the cinema. They said their school
provides a variety of specialist programs such as engineering, science and
sports leadership and all the students get along. The student executives liked
organising activities to welcome new students, performing skits at assemblies
and getting others generally involved in their school.
The young people said the following things would make Bunbury a better
place to live:
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More festivals or fun activities specifically for young people, especially
in winter
More organisations such as bushrangers, cadets or political youth
engagement so they can plant trees, tidy bushland or do other
community things together
Bus timetables to be more accessible by being displayed at bus stops
The community sports facilities to be renewed
Greater awareness of information about where young people can go to
for help for mental health issues.
What the Commissioner heard from children and young
people
The Commissioner met with student representatives from Wilson Park Primary
School in Collie. The Year 6 students gave the Commissioner a tour of the
school and showed her the construction of the new Child and Parent Centre
next to the school. They spoke positively about being part of the school and
said it was safe and caring. The Commissioner learned of the students’
project to make the library a more inviting place for others and of the project
to beautify the school by planting barrels with flowers in the school. The
students talked to her about the six Aboriginal seasons and said they had
been learning the Noongar language from Year 2.
The Commissioner visited Djidi Djidi Aboriginal School in Bunbury and met
with students in its leadership team. They described what they enjoyed about
living in Bunbury, including going to the cinemas and camping, and playing
sports such as football, cricket and basketball. When asked what they would
change, the students said they would like to see more shops and less bad
people who speed while driving or do things like steal cars.
The students were very positive about their school and said they like learning
the Noongar language and helping their teachers and other students. They
said they enjoyed using the computers, especially during their lunch breaks in
winter. When asked what would make their school better they said more
drama classes, new bikes, an underground pool and a typing teacher.
Acting Commissioner Jenni Perkins with students from Djidi Djidi Aboriginal
School and Principal Justin Grasso.
Commissioner’s comments
I was pleased to have the opportunity to meet with several local community
organisations and service providers during my visit to Collie and Bunbury. I
was impressed with the dedication of these local organisations to
strengthening the wellbeing of children and young people and supporting
their families. The positive behaviour approach taken by the primary schools I
visited seems to be making a very positive impact on students and helping
them engage with education.
In both Bunbury and Collie I was told about a lack of access to some
important services, caused by factors such as high demand and insufficient
transport options. Other key issues raised with me include difficulty in
accessing ongoing funding for important support services, maintaining
support for young people with mental health issues or those at risk of
disengaging from schooling and affordable housing.
My work is informed by what is happening in the community so hearing the
views and ideas of children, young people and the people that work with
them is very important to me.
I thank everyone I met in Collie and Bunbury for sharing their time with me.
Related links
Commissioner’s Diary Story
Media Release: Views of Bunbury young people heard by Commissioner
Media Release: Views of Collie students heard by Commissioner