Colin Barnett pushed as anger erupts at protest over remote communities closure

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Sorry, this video has expired Video: Protester pushes WA Premier at Parliament House rally (ABC News)

West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has endured a hostile reception both inside and outside Parliament over the Government's push to close isolated Aboriginal communities in the state.

Mr Barnett was pushed by a protester at a rally outside Parliament, attended by more than 1,000 people unhappy with the Government's plan to shut up to 150 of the state's more than 270 remote communities.

Protesters marched through Perth's CBD and up to Parliament House where they were met by Mr Barnett and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Peter Collier.

Chanting "save the communities, close the gap", the protesters booed as Mr Barnett addressed them.

He said no Aboriginal people would be forced from their traditional lands or communities.

"I want every boy and girl in this state to grow up to be healthy and to be safe. I ask you to join me in doing that," he said.

He was loudly booed by the crowd, which chanted: "Shame on you."

Some protesters called him a "maggot" and yelled abuse at him.

After the Premier finished addressing the crowd, a female protester pushed the Premier and a bodyguard and abused him.

The Premier's office has confirmed it will not be making a complaint about the incident.

WA Police said they had no information about the protester's lunge at Mr Barnett.

Other protests were held in Broome, Geraldton, and Roebourne.

Premier draws howls of protest inside Parliament

Debate over remote communities turned hostile inside the Parliament as well, when Premier Colin Barnett argued the move to close unsustainable settlements was driven by concerns about child safety.

"Those communities, 273 of them, are not sustainable into the future. They cannot look anyone in the face and guarantee the safety of little boys and girls," he said.

Mr Barnett told Parliament that in 2013 there were 39 cases of gonorrhoea in Aboriginal children aged 10 to 14.

"How many cases of gonorrhoea in the wider community," he said, referring to non-Indigenous children in the same age group.

"None. None. Not a single case."

"And do you think that I, as Premier, or the Health Minister as Deputy Premier, are going to sit by and let those children be abused? You are wrong."

The Premier's comments drew howls of protest from the Opposition benches, with calls for him to name the communities failing to keep children safe.

"Not every community. You've tarred them all with the same brush. You're a disgrace Premier," yelled the Labor Member for Albany, Peter Watson.

Indigenous MLAs walk out of Legislative Assembly

Opposition Leader Mark McGowan ask him to clarify his statement to the protest outside Parliament that no-one would be forced from their communities.

Mr McGowan asked whether that meant essential services such as power, water, health and education would be retained.

"We will work progressively with those communities and we will make other investments to make those communities viable and sustainable, to protect children, to improve health and education," he said.

"And that might mean, in 10 years time, there are not 273 remote communities, but I pray to this day there are safe and healthy children."

The hostile debate continued to the end of Question Time.

Labor Member for Kimberly Josie Farrer, the only Indigenous woman in Legislative Assembly, walked out.

After a series of interjections, the Opposition Aboriginal Affairs spokesman Ben Wyatt was told to leave the chamber.

"With pleasure, Mr Speaker," he said as he, too, walked out.

Topics: indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, federal---state-issues, states-and-territories, government-and-politics, perth-6000

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