ABC NEWS: Calls for greater transparency as WA government's annual reports into youth suicide delayed

Note: This article was written by Esse Deves for ABC Kimberley.

It has been almost seven years since a West Australian coroner handed down 42 recommendations into the suicide deaths of 12 young Indigenous people in the state's far north.

Since then, at least 283 young people aged 15 to 24 across WA have taken their lives.

The grim result has people asking whether or not any positive change has occurred since coroner Ros Fogliani's findings were released in 2019.

Reporting delayed

Both the coroner's findings and an earlier report stemming from a parliamentary inquiry named 'Message Stick' have each attempted to halt the rate of youth suicide in remote areas, making a combined 86 recommendations for change.

However, the last report was from 2022-23 which was not published until 2024. The latest annual report was due to be published last year, but has been delayed and will not be made public until the end of 2026.

'Shocked by little progress'

Australian Christians MP Maryka Groenewald said she was concerned by the delays.

"When the Fogliani recommendations came out, we thought 'OK, given that we've lost children and young people in these incredibly volatile situations, surely the government will take note'," she said.

"Having asked these questions several years later, I'm quite shocked to find very little progress has been made."