Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the motion. As we know, today is World Mental Health Day and as many speakers have said before I do not think there is anyone who does not have direct family, extended family or friends who have not been touched by mental health issues. It is why we say as a government—and, with all due respect, it being bipartisan—that there has never been more mental health services provided in our community than there are today. This has grown steadily at all levels of government, including local and state. They have seen that we all have to play a part in extending mental health services to our communities, because we are more conscious and more aware of many of the mental health issues in all of our communities.

I was delighted recently that our local North Coast Primary Health Network was selected as just one of four lead sites from across Australia to implement the new $192 million mental health program. Under this new program the North Coast Primary Health Network will receive much extra funding for additional resources to develop localised methods to help address mental health issues. Deputy Speaker, as a regional MP you are very conscious, as I am, that most solutions to our community's issues and problems are within the local community. The expertise we have in a whole array of fields is there, and this includes mental health. So the way that this is going to roll out through our primary health networks is not necessarily a one size fits all—or, in this case, not necessarily one organisation to roll out programs that will deal with mental health issues. I know that just within my community there are different service providers already who do different things that work. They are not necessarily duplicated across the whole country. Sometimes they arise out of nuances within our own individual towns and areas. I am very excited about, obviously, the extra resources being put into mental health, but also I am very happy with the way that this has been designed. Local people, local organisations will choose through their primary health network about how to spend this money.

Work within the primary health network has begun to implement the northern New South Wales Mental Health Integration Plan, with the ability, as I have said, to direct funding back to people who are on the ground. My local primary health network CEO, Vahid Saberi, with the team that he has—we are all very proud of a lot of different places in our communities, but I am very proud of my primary health network. Vahid runs a great team there. A lot of different spaces around our health provision that we do as a federal government is run through him. I know he is going to do a great job with the extra resources that he is going to get for mental health. There will be things such as an outreach of headspace from Coffs operating in the Clarence. They will be providing resources for the acute-care level of mental health, as well. As we know, a lot of work needs to be done in the mental health spectrum at the preventative stage. There are lots of great programs for that. Also, there is a great awareness that we need more resources and assistance in the acute care of this and actual beds in mental health, because, obviously, suicide and the prevention of suicide.

I have organisations like Cranes in Grafton. It is an example of how mental health services should be provided. Many staff on the ground have great experience in running early intervention seminars and training to pick up early warning signs. Also, within the integration plan we will have an implementation of a person-centre approach to service, an increase in co-location of services and development of community education to reduce the stigma of mental illness.

What I find almost still upsetting is: we have had many suicides in our community—often youth—and, in many cases, people have never sought help. So while we have school counselling programs and other service providers in our community, more often than not—or in too many cases—no-one has ever really been aware of the mental health issues that this person has been going through, and they have never actively sought help. So part of it is to reduce the stigma, to make it, as we say, okay to say that you are not okay, to break down the stigma of seeking help in this space and to, therefore, make people aware already of the many services. As I said, there are more services than there has ever been. But, also, as a government it is very important that we increase the services, as we are doing.

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