Judi Moylan (Pearce, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Earlier this year parliament witnessed an incredible outpouring of sorrow in an apology to the stolen generation. It was very important symbolically, but now Indigenous people need to be empowered to manage the pressing social and economic issues in their communities. One issue that has come to my attention in recent weeks is the rate of suicide in Aboriginal communities. It is truly tragic. Six males have committed suicide in the wheat belt town of Narrogin, in my electorate of Pearce, since January this year. Four of these were local Aboriginal community members aged between 21 and 30 years. I understand that a further four Aboriginal men in Narrogin attempted suicide over the past month. Indeed, since I have been here this week I have had a report of another attempted suicide. Fortunately, they were not successful, but it is obvious that there is a most serious problem needing urgent attention. It is having a shocking impact on the whole community.

On hearing of this tragedy I contacted the state and federal ministers for health to ask for assistance and for some action to be taken. The first reply was from the state Minister for Health, the Hon. Jim McGinty, saying several meetings had been arranged. I visited Narrogin soon after making that approach and, during the visit, the Narrogin Aboriginal Community Reference Group, whom I met with, said that there had been very few practical outcomes from those meetings. That group is working extremely hard to try to make sure that culturally appropriate services are brought to the town. They have been working with the community to try to establish services to avoid the needless loss of young lives.

I find it extraordinary that currently there is no Aboriginal health service in the wheat belt. The reference group have asked the state government to fund an Aboriginal controlled response which is culturally appropriate for the issues faced by young Aboriginal people. Included in this would be a men’s shelter, a medical centre, a youth officer and a community development officer.

I pay tribute to Oxfam’s work. It is a non-government organisation and it has taken responsibility for providing emergency responses by funding an Aboriginal psychologist, Darrell Henry, who will work in the town for a week each month seeing patients and training two local people as community support workers.

It is a matter of enduring shame that, in a state that is awash with money from the mining boom, practical support to assist Aborigina1 people in the wheat belt to manage their own community issues is simply not available. While the state government coffers overflow with taxes, little finds its way back into the wheat belt for essential services. I think that is very sad indeed.

During my visit to Narrogin, I was also shocked while meeting some of the people delivering services in a general sense when I was told that there are only two part-time mental health support workers to cover an area of 48,000 square kilometres from Narrogin to the port city of Bunbury and to the other port city of Albany. It is a massive area and there is only one psychiatrist for that total area. Further, there has been no increase in funding for these services for 12 years. For the past 12 years, there has been no increase in funding.

We have been going through a drought as well and many young farmers are also taking their lives, so this is not just an issue that affects Indigenous people—but it is sad that there are not culturally specific services to address some of these issues. I know the rural community is working very hard to try to help both the farming sector and the Indigenous community. The psychologist, Darrell Henry, has also committed to providing Narrogin with telephone and teleconference support during his weeks away from the town.

Both state and federal governments need to commit more money to train Aboriginal people to provide appropriate support within their local communities. It is these practical measures that will go a long way to better managing the health of Aboriginal people in the wheat belt. (Time expired)

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