A leaked coronial report has revealed significant failures by the Western Australia Department of Child Protection (DCP) in the lead-up to the 2022 murders of three Indigenous children in Port Hedland. The siblings—10-year-old Jamelia, 7-year-old Arnda, and four-month-old Kelvin Hawke—were killed by their mother, Margaret Hawke, in a violent incident that shocked the local community.

The report, authored in July 2025 by former WA coroner Philip Urquhart, detailed how a critical email from the Department of Communities headquarters in Perth, instructing the South Hedland office to commence a child safety investigation, remained unopened for eight days. The email stemmed from police concerns about Margaret Hawke’s alleged violent behaviour, including an incident where she reportedly struck one of her children with a rock. The message was addressed to a South Hedland team leader who was on leave, and the email was only opened upon their return on the morning of July 19, 2022—the same day the children were murdered.

Coroner Urquhart’s findings highlighted a cascade of bureaucratic lapses, including miscommunications around a newly implemented internal communications system and procedural oversights that contributed to the failure to initiate a timely investigation. Notably, the ordered child safety investigation was not classified as Priority 1, which would have mandated a rapid response. The report also acknowledged that baby Kelvin had been previously identified as a high-risk infant.

The violence surrounding the family was well-documented. Police records detailed numerous assaults on Margaret Hawke by multiple partners, including the fathers of her children. The children’s maternal grandmother, Dorothy Papertalk, had repeatedly appealed to the DCP to intervene and take the children into her care, but those requests were reportedly dismissed. Local police and the WA Department of Housing had also flagged concerns that went unaddressed.

On the day of the murders, Margaret Hawke strangled and stabbed Jamelia, assaulted Arnda, and is believed to have smothered the infant. She then set fire to the family home with the three children inside. Hawke later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a 25-year non-parole period.

Despite the documented failures, Coroner Urquhart refused an application by Ms Papertalk for a formal inquest, stating that an inquest was "not desirable or in the public interest" and that the ultimate outcome was "unpredictable and unpreventable." The coroner suggested that further inquiry would be unlikely to uncover new information or clarify existing facts. Ms Papertalk expressed profound grief and frustration over the decision, accusing the government of neglect and calling for accountability.

The case has drawn widespread criticism from Indigenous advocates, child welfare experts, and political figures. A local Indigenous elder, speaking anonymously, alleged systemic racial disparities in responses to child protection cases, asserting that the outcome would have been different if the children had been white. Health professionals who worked in Port Hedland have described the local DCP office as dysfunctional and unresponsive, with multiple appeals for intervention in cases of child neglect going unanswered.

Federal opposition Indigenous affairs spokesman Julian Leeser called for a coronial inquiry, describing the case as emblematic of broader failures in child protection services in Western Australia. Ian Viner, a former Aboriginal affairs minister and King’s counsel, condemned the lack of a parliamentary or governmental response to the tragedy, calling it a "severe dereliction of departmental duty."

In response, a WA government spokesperson acknowledged shortcomings in the department’s handling of the family and referenced internal and Ombudsman reviews. The spokesperson noted that once a coroner declines an inquest, the Attorney-General lacks authority to mandate one. However, some legal experts contest this interpretation, suggesting that the Attorney-General does hold power to direct an inquest and that the decision could be challenged in the Supreme Court.

Ms Papertalk and supporters continue to advocate for a formal inquiry, emphasizing the need to address systemic issues in Indigenous child welfare and prevent similar tragedies. The Hawke children’s deaths remain a stark reminder of ongoing challenges in protecting vulnerable children within Australia’s child protection framework.