Kununurra Night Space on track to open next year as community consultation kicks off

A safe night space for young people in Kununurra is on track to open by the end of next year, with community consultation under way as the State Government tries to curb youth offending in the Kimberley. Announced in January, the $5.9 million Kununurra Youth Night Space has been modelled on existing facilities, including Ngurra Buru in Broome and the Youth Connection Night Place in Fitzroy Crossing. Premier Roger Cook confirmed in WA Parliament last week the facility was on track to open by the end of next year, as planned, as part of a “co-ordinated multi-agency, community-led response that addresses the causes of youth offending”. “It brings together night patrols, safe spaces, cultural programs, education, and youth engagement, because no single intervention on its own is enough,” Mr Cook said. “The night space will provide outreach, meals, next-day family follow-up, and co-ordinated support services. “These community-driven initiatives are often the best way to address these difficult and socially complex circumstances.” Waringarri Aboriginal Corporation, Wunan Foundation and MG Corporation have been appointed as the community co-design partners for the project, with co-design workshops and consultations, and the forming of a co-design committee now under way. Consultation is expected to wrap up in December, with suggestions presented to the WA Government in January before a tender is released and construction starts about July. Speaking in Parliament, Mr Cook acknowledged “recent reports of incidents in Kununurra in particular are concerning”, but said “the circumstances are often complex and require a considered response”. During a recent 72-hour span, 17 juveniles were arrested after a crime spree involving multiple stolen vehicles. In one incident, a stolen Toyota Prado was driven recklessly and pursued police, only to be abandoned, with nine juveniles, aged between 10 and 17 arrested. The Premier said the State Government’s plan aimed to combine community programs with practical on-the-ground support, working alongside police, youth services and Aboriginal organisations to address the underlying causes of youth offending. However, Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas told Parliament people in Kununurra and across the Kimberley were still living in fear and deserved stronger action. “People in Kununurra and right across the Kimberley are scared, often in broad daylight and not just after dark,” Mr Zempilas said. “They are six to seven times more likely than average Western Australians to experience a home break-in or have their car stolen yet, after eight years of Labor government — almost nine years now — all those families see from this Government is spin and delay.” Mr Zempilas said WA Labor had failed to meet its promise of increasing police numbers across WA, after it “went to the 2021 election trumpeting the single biggest injection of police officers in modern history”. “They trumpeted an extra 950 police officers over four years, but, years on, we still do not have 950 additional police officers on the front line,” he said. “The WA Police Force annual report makes it clear that the force is still progressively recruiting and deploying officers across Western Australia to meet that target. It has not been delivered.” Mr Zempilas said the shortfall was being felt most acutely in the Kimberley. “In October this year, official figures tabled in Parliament showed that the Kimberley Police District had an authorised strength of 292 officers, but only 265.28 actual FTE,” he said. “That is almost 30 officers short of what the commissioner says is required for that district. That is almost an entire subdistrict’s worth of officers missing from the roster.”